politics
Page: 5
Los Tigres del Norte, for decades considered by fans as La Voz del Pueblo (or the voice of the pueblo), is set to perform at the Kamala Harris campaign rally in Phoenix on Thursday (Oct. 31). The appearance aligns with the Mexican band’s continued support for Democratic candidates during U.S. presidential elections. In the past, […]
Madonna is voting blue. The Queen of Pop took to Instagram on Thursday (Oct. 31) to share a series of photos from her recent trip to Paris. “Paris was so FUN! 🇫🇷 . It was hard to leave, but I had. to come home to V.O.T.E. 🇺🇸🇺🇸,” she wrote in the caption. “@kamalaharris For. President!!!! […]
You can add ska-punk legends Fishbone to the increasingly lengthy list of musicians who are not fans of Donald Trump. The veteran band released a pointed broadside against convicted felon Trump on Thursday (Oct. 31), just days before the Nov. 5 presidential election.
“Proud to have this new song out… it was actually written back in 2017, but never got on tape until now. Sad part is that it’s only gotten worse,” the band wrote on Instagram about the bubbling verbal takedown “Racist Piece of S–t” (also tagged as “RxPxOxS” to seemingly beat censors.)
“Here’s the thing, this song pulled no punches… if you are a fan of this band from the start, you know we have never been shy of speaking our truth,” they wrote on Instagram of the track whose lyric video features a cascade of news headlines about the deadly January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters.
And, indeed, the lyrics to the two-tone takedown are precise and concise. “I see you coming down the street/ With tiki torches and hate speech/ You’re not a proud boy/ You’re just a F$@k Boy/ Drinking the kool aid Of a mad orange king,” singer Angelo Moore spits in reference to the white supremacist rally Charlottesville in 2017 in which neo-Nazis spewed antisemitic and racist hates speech at an event where Trump said there were “very fine people on both sides.”
The song continues with lyrics aimed at one of the celebrity supporters of the former reality star, before getting to the pointed chorus. “Another Kid Rock/ With all the hate talk/ Murder Sickness global crisis coup d’état vanilla isis/ Ohhhh.. you’re just a racist piece of s–t,” Moore sings, adding, “The Power zombies said/ Let’s put this lie to bed/ Here’s an ignorant pillow for your empty racist head.”
“As artists, this is our platform, be it music, art or words. If you don’t agree, that’s fine,” Fishbone said in their statement. “Just don’t come in here telling us to shut up and dribble, you are talking to the wrong brothers. We speak our reality and if you are still “undecided” well, maybe this song and perspective will open you up with a straight up call out of what is at stake.”
The Los Angeles group has long made standing up to racism and fascism part of their brand, mixing uptempo party jams with conscious lyrics on their beloved 1988 second album, Truth and Soul, including on the punk blitz “Subliminal Fascism” and funk rocking “Ghetto Soundwave.”
In an email interview with Rolling Stone, founding keyboard/trombone player Christopher Dowd said he knew he had to write a song about Trump a decade ago when Trump announced his first run for the White House. “The timing of this release couldn’t be more perfect,” Dowd told the magazine. “With Election Day five days away, maybe hearing this song, if you are ‘undecided,’ will trigger your subconscious to think about who could win and what that would look like to the country and the world. One person in a leadership position can automatically make you guilty by association. So will you want to be associated and represented by a person with non-apologetic racist tendencies or a person that doesn’t?”
The post ended with an urgent plea to vote on Tuesday (Nov. 5)in the election that pollsters continue to say is a near dead-heat between Vice President Kamala Harris and twice impeached Trump.
Listen to “Racist Piece of S–t” below.
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
Source: Chip Somodevilla / Getty
By now you’ve heard of Donald Trump’s latest stunt of plastering the side of a garbage truck with his campaign’s logo in an attempt to own the libs at the expense of a Joe Biden gaffe. But social media is quick with the punch back, with “Garbage Farce One” trending, and it’s hilarious.
Whoever on Team Trump came up with the idea of their Cheeto Overlord cozying up to a garbage truck in Green Bay, Wiscnsin might not really be gang gang. Just saying.
Add to that Trump in a struggle attempt at dressing up like a sanitation worker—a legit blue color job no one should be ashamed of, by the way—and the slander was inevitable. The hypocrisy is that Trump has referred to the United States as a garbage dump for immigrants and he’s even said much worse. Yet the snowflakes are having a meltdown because Biden allegedly dragged them. For the record, Biden said he misspoke, something Trump has never even bothered to say after, for example, referring to immigrants as vermin.
As for the stunt, the fact people hopped on calling what surely would have been a Decepticon in the Transformers universe as Garbage Force One is comically on brand.
Don’t take our word for it, peep the reactions in the gallery.
This is comedy pure gold. Garbage Force One. 😂😂😂 #HappyHalloween https://t.co/PT2A5h644V
— Sheri 👩🦰 (@redsheri1) October 31, 2024
A week after Beyoncé appeared at a rally for Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign in the singer’s hometown of Houston, the Democratic candidate’s rival Donald Trump still seemed focused on the 32-time Grammy winner’s full-throated endorsement of the sitting Vice President.
Taking the stage in an orange and yellow safety vest on Wednesday (Oct. 30) in Green Bay, WI, the twice impeached former President told the crowd, “four nights ago they got Beyoncé… uhhhh Beyoncé,” as he paused while audience appeared to boo the singer who has sold more than 350 million records as a solo act and with Destiny’s Child. “They got Beyoncé,” he sighed a second time. “We don’t need Beyoncé, we don’t need anybody… all you got is me, and I don’t have a guitar.”
The Harris campaign reposted the Beyoncé-bashing moment, which came on the same day that convicted felon Trump rolled out a bizarre attack on Pres. Joe Biden that found the former reality TV star climbing into a Trump-branded garbage truck and riding around in circles on an airport tarmac while wearing the vest. The stunt appeared to be the Trump campaign’s attempt to capitalize on a gaffe by Pres. Biden, who caused a stir on Tuesday night when he seemed to compare Trump’s supporters to garbage while commenting on a racist joke made at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally earlier this week in which the comedian compared Puerto Rico to a “floating island of garbage.”
Trending on Billboard
The White House quickly tried to do damage control by clarifying that Biden was referring to the sexist, racist attacks launched by a series of speakers at Trump’s MSG rally on Sunday, not Trump’s supporters; the event also included an off-color joke by the same comedian that Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce could be the “next O.J. Simpson,” a remark that disgusted Swifties. “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters,” Biden said in a video of his controversial remarks. “His, his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American. It’s totally contrary to everything we’ve done, everything we’ve been.”
The offensive comments at the Trump rally quickly resulted in a number of Puerto Rican born superstars endorsing Harris, including Bad Bunny, Ricky Martin and Jennifer Lopez — whose parents were born on the island nation — as well as reggaetón legend Don Omar, who endorsed Harris on Tuesday. In addition, Nicky Jam rescinded his previous Trump endorsement on Wednesday and lined up behind Harris.
The Beyoncé mention at the rally where Trump once again vowed to the the “protector of women” — even, as he added, “whether the women like it or not” — was coupled with Trump bragging that “we don’t need Beyoncé.” Though the Harris campaign never said that the R&B legend would sing at the Houston event, Trump told the Green Bay crowd, “They said, ladies and gentlemen, they said Beyoncé’s coming to sing and she came but she didn’t sing. And then Kamala came on as Beyoncé was leaving without singing even one song and they booed the hell out of both of them”; there is no evidence supporting his claim that the 30,000-plus Harris supporters booed Beyoncé’s appearance.
“I’m not here as a celebrity,” Bey told the Houstonaudience in her introduction of Harris. “I’m not here as a politician. I’m here as a mother. A mother who cares, deeply, about the world my children and all of our children live in. A world where we have the freedom to control our bodies. A world where we’re not divided. Our past, our present, our future merge to meet us here.”
Trump frequently denigrates A-listers who either don’t support him or who line up behind his rivals, and he continues to seem peeved at the many music stars who’ve endorsed Harris, an increasingly long roster that includes Bruce Springsteen, Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish and Finneas, Barbra Streisand, Cardi B, Charli XCX, Cher, Eminem, Katy Perry, Megan Thee Stallion, Olivia Rodrigo and many more. Early on in Harris’ 11th-hour bid, Beyoncé gave her permission to use the 2016 track “Freedom” as the campaign’s theme song; the singer’s camp then sent a cease-and-desist to the Trump campaign in August after it used the song in a social media video that was later deleted from campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung’s X account.
And, after Taylor Swift endorsed Harris last month following what experts deemed the VP’s decisive win in the single debate Trump agreed to, the 78-year-old former President posted an all-caps response reading, “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT.”
See Trump’s crowd boo Beyoncé below.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Nicky Jam, a popular Reggaeton artist, was one of many Donald Trump’s celebrity supporters who hit the stump with the presidential hopeful. After a series of tasteless jokes were delivered at a recent rally held by Donald Trump in New York, Nicky Jam is now walking back his endorsement of the former president.
Just last month, Nicky Jam was a proud Donald Trump supporter and appeared onstage with him while sporting a Make America Great Again cap. However, comedian Tony Hinchliffe unleashed jokes at the expense of Puerto Rico, referring to the island as “garbage” along with other racially charged barbs.
Taking to Instagram and speaking in Spanish, Nicky Jam denounced Hinchliffe’s insults then explained to his fans that he supported Trump due to concerns over the economy and thought as a businessman, he would improve conditions for all economically.
“I believed it was what’s best for the economy in the United States, where a lot of Latinos live [A] lot of immigrants that are suffering over the state of the economy,” Jam said. “With [Trump] being a businessman, I felt it was the right movement.”
Below, we’re sharing the video Nicky Jam posted to his Instagram page. The comments for the clip have been turned off, however, so we’re not certain how his statements were received among his 43.5 million followers.
—
Photo: Getty
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris will square off on Election Day next week and the race continues to be deadlocked according to national polling numbers. On X, Donald Trump was greeted by a “Dump Trump” trending topic on X after appearing to stumble towards a garbage truck for a media event in Wisconsin.
Donald Trump, 78, was in Green Bay, Wisc. for a campaign event in what was a return jab toward President Joe Biden, who appeared to refer to Trump supporters as “garbage” after a comedian made a crude joke about Puerto Rico and referred to the island as such.
In a clip posted by Matt McDermott on X, formerly Twitter, Trump is seen walking towards a white garbage truck adorned with flags and his name on the side. As he approaches the door, Trump appears to mistime grabbing the handle and looks to be gingerly walking up into the passenger side.
While seated in the garbage truck, Trump took questions from the media but continued to dodge questions regarding comedian Tony Hinchcliffe and claimed that he didn’t know him while passing the scheduling of Hinchcliffe onto his staff.
Conservative commentators have commended Trump for the media event, using it as fuel to egg on voters who may have been on the fence. Although President Biden clarified his comments, some observers felt that the mention of the MSG rally by Biden was a gaffe that Vice President Harris could ill afford. Harris and other Democrats have distanced themselves from Biden’s comments, but it hasn’t stopped the flurry of reactions that ensued.
Under the “Dump Trump” trending topic, users on X are noting that Donald Trump looks physically unable to handle the rigors of the campaign trail. Other replies also highlight former Trump allies aiming at him.
On X, we’ve gathered some replies and they’re listed out below.
Trump seems to be really struggling physically. pic.twitter.com/yRk7ZB2kDx
— Matt McDermott (@mattmfm) October 30, 2024
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
—
Photo: Getty
It’s “TGIF” indeed for Vice President Kamala Harris‘ rally and concert set for this Friday (Nov. 1). The Harris-Walz campaign announced on Thursday (Oct. 31) that rappers Cardi B and GloRilla will be on hand to support the Democratic ticket during the When We Vote We Win event in Milwaukee, Wisc. The Grammy-winning rapper is […]
When Gracie Abrams took the stage at a Kamala Harris rally at Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin, on Wednesday night (Oct. 30), the 25-year-old singer/songwriter urged young voters to support the Harris/Walz campaign so there’s still a democracy left to “fix it when it is our turn.”
“I know everybody who has been onstage tonight and will be onstage tonight wouldn’t be anywhere else for anyone else except … for the next president of the United States: the amazing, compassionate and brilliant Kamala Harris,” Abrams said. “For many of us here onstage and in this crowd tonight, this is either the first or second time that we’ve had the privilege of voting in a presidential election. As we know, we’ve inherited a world that is struggling and it’s easy to feel disconnected and disillusioned. Between the advent of social media in our childhoods and COVID and relentlessly targeted disinformation, we’ve been through some things. It’s easy to be discouraged, but we know better. We know that unless we vote and keep our democracy intact, there is nothing we will be able to do to fix it when it is our turn.”
Abrams wrapped her speech by declaring of Harris: “She is the right leader at a very tricky time and we could not be luckier.”
.@gracieabrams: It’s easy to be discouraged, but we know better. We know that unless we vote for Kamala Harris and keep our democracy intact, there is nothing we will be able to do to fix it when it is our turn💙 pic.twitter.com/9YH77IhX1D— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) October 31, 2024
In addition to her speech, Abrams and her band — who are currently opening up for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour on its final North American leg — also performed “I Love You, I’m Sorry” (which just peaked in the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 this month) and “Free Now”; both are from her most recent album, The Secret of Us, which debuted at No. 1 on the Top Album Sales chart over the summer.
Mumford & Sons also performed at the rally, playing “Little Lion Man,” “Awake My Soul” and “I Will Wait” — their highest-charting hit, peaking at No. 12 on the Hot 100 in 2013. In 2021, the group’s guitarist-banjo player Winston Marshall left the band after a controversial social media post calling right-wing provocateur Andy Ngo a “brave man” for his book Unmasked: Inside Antifa’s Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy.
Remi Wolf hit the stage too, performing “Cinderella” and saying in a speech that America should feel like “a place where we feel safe, accepted and free. That is why I’m here today to support our future president, Kamala Harris, in her efforts to create this safe space for us again. She understands that the right to make decisions about our own bodies is fundamental. She’s committed to tackling big issues like climate change and, like me, she’s a girl from the Bay Area who loves to laugh and have fun.”
Also at the music-heavy rally, Aaron Dessner and Matt Berninger from The National dedicated their song “I Need a Girl” to Harris.
It looks like The Queen of Soul is a Kamala Harris supporter. In a new campaign ad, the Democratic presidential candidate talks about the “full-on attack on hard-fought freedoms,” as Aretha Franklin’s 1968 classic “Think” plays in the background. As Harris reminds voters of freedoms achieved over the decades over historic footage, including the right to vote for Black Americans and women, as well as a woman’s right to “make decisions about her own body,” the song’s “Freedom” refrain plays.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Billboard has learned that Franklin’s estate reached out to the Harris campaign, making her music available, and specifically suggested “Think” as a good option. The campaign fully embraced the idea for the get-out-the-vote ad, which is running on YouTube and other online outlets, as well as connected TV/premium streaming services. Billboard will update as soon as it learns more.
Trending on Billboard
Franklin has supported Democrats for decades, including performing the national anthem at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. She sang a majestic version of “My Country, Tis of Thee” at Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration in 2009. She also sang at a farewell event for Obama’s attorney general, Eric Holder, in 2015.
When Franklin died in 2018, Obama released a statement that read in part, “Aretha’s work reflected the very best of our American story – in all of its hope and heart, its boldness and its unmistakable beauty.”
While the Harris ad uses “Think,” which Franklin and her ex-husband, Ted White, co-wrote, her signature song, “Respect,” also played a vital role in the civil rights movement in the ‘60s. In her autobiography she wrote of the song that it spoke to “the need of the average man and woman in the street, the businessman, the mother, the fireman, the teacher — everyone wanted respect…It was also one of the battle cries of the civil rights movement. The song took on monumental significance.”