Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

‘We got to vote him out’: Neil Young taunts Trump with song suggestion for president’s next rally

The rock icon has asked the president to stop playing his music 

Danielle Zoellner
Wednesday 08 July 2020 14:42 EDT
Comments
Trump condemns 'far left fascism' in Mount Rushmore speech

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Neil Young has taunted Donald Trump by making a song suggestion the president should play at his next campaign rally.

The rock icon has made it clear he does not support Trump using his songs during rallies, as he believes it “indicates that I support your agenda”. But the president has refused to stop playing the music.

At the South Dakota rally this past weekend, music from Young including “Rockin’ in the Free World” and “Like a Hurricane” were played for the crowd in front of Mount Rushmore to celebrate Independence Day.

In response to his music being played, Young said he would not be suing the Trump administration.

“Because you are in charge of the Covid 19 response here in the USA, I will not sue you, (as certainly is my right) potentially distracting from your important work at hand protecting and saving American lives,” Young wrote in an open letter published on his website.

He then suggested for Trump to play another song at his rally, entitled “Looking For a Leader 2020”, which is an updated version of his 2006 hit “Lookin’ for a Leader”.

The singer performed the song for his online concert series, filmed by his wife, Kill Bill star Daryl Hannah.

”Yeah, we had Barack Obama and we really need him now/ The man who stood behind him has to take his place somehow/ America has a leader building walls around our house/ Don’t know Black lives matter and we got to vote him out,” Young sang during his acoustic guitar performance.

The political anthem was originally written by Young, who is a Canadian-born musician, when former President Barack Obama announced he was running in the election against Republican Senator John McCain.

Young became an American citizen earlier this year.

“I believe it would be an interesting addition to your next rally,” Young wrote the president about the updated song.

Listen to Young’s updated political anthem at 17:18 mark of his online concert series.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in