Billie Joe Armstrong leads “fuck Donald Trump” chant at Independence Day Concert
Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong led the crowd at Rock Werchter in Belgium through a “fuck Donald Trump” chant on July 4th, US Independence Day.
Armstrong has always been vocal about his anti-Trump politics, but now he’s left no room for misinterpretation. During the band’s performance of ‘Holiday’, Armstrong instructed the band’s crew to cut the lights. In the near-dark, he led the crowd in a chant of “Fuck Donald Trump”. This is the first time he has explicitly addressed the US President.
Armstrong also briefly covered ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’, the national anthem of the United States of America, before moving into the Green Day classic ‘Wake Me Up When September Ends.’
The ‘American Idiot’ vocalist persistently uses his platform for political commentary. Recently, as residents in Los Angeles continue to protest against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids across the nation, Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong shared his solidarity with the protestors via a social media post.
In June, Green Day marked their Download festival debut with a riotous set that targeted the Donald Trump administration. Two songs in, Armstrong yelled, “We are slipping into fascism. Donald Trump and his administration are a fascist government,” he warned the crowd. “It is up to us to fight back.”
He also led the crowd through a “you fat bastard” chant aimed at Trump.
Green Day used their Coachella set to make a political stance against the ongoing conflict in Gaza. When performing the 2004 tune ‘Jesus of Suburbia’, Armstrong sang the words “Runnin’ away from pain, like the kids from Palestine/ Tales from another broken home,” instead of the usual lyrics of “Runnin’ away from pain when you’ve been victimised.”
A myriad of other artists, such as Ariana Grande, Rod Stewart, Kim Gordon, and Joan Baez, have also criticised the Trump administration. In particular, Bruce Springsteen has delivered over a dozen speeches to thousands of fans, directly calling out Trumpism as a form of dictatorship.
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