Neil Young renews attacks on Trump, calls the U.S. government ‘out of control'
Neil Young
is once again taking shots at
U.S. President Donald Trump
, calling the American government 'out of control' and suggesting that the country is at risk of 'martial law' in a statement shared on his
website this week
.
'Our country and our way of life, that which our fathers and theirs fought for, is now threatened by our government,' Young declared in a post titled 'WAKE UP AMERICA,' though he did not mention any government policy in particular. 'Our government is out of control, not standing for us.'
Young is set to embark on a world tour with his new band the Chrome Hearts later this month. In his post, he said that his shows will not be political, but also acknowledged the fraught political situation in the U.S.
'When I tour the USA this summer, if there is not martial law by then which would make it impossible, let's all come together and stand for American values,' Young's statement said.
However, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer did appear to offer Trump an olive branch of sorts: 'President Trump, you are invited. Come and hear our music just as you did for decades,' Young wrote, making reference to the fact that the president was a
self-proclaimed fan
before their relationship deteriorated in recent years.
Last month, Young also came to the defence of Bruce Springsteen, another rock star
who has drawn the ire of Trump
in recent weeks for publicly criticizing the administration.
'Bruce and thousands of musicians think you are ruining America,' Young wrote on his website on May 20 in a post titled 'TRUMP!!!' 'You worry about that instead of the
dyin' kids in Gaza
. That's your problem.'
Young, 79, was born in Canada, but has lived south of the border for decades (he
officially became a U.S. citizen in 2020
). As an artist and an activist, Young has never shied away from politics and has thrown constant barbs at Trump since he launched his political career in the mid-2010s.
In 2015, Young spoke out against Trump's use of the 1990 single 'Rockin' in the Free World,' after the song accompanied Trump's announcement of his presidential campaign. In 2020,
Young sued Trump's re-election campaign for copyright infringement
, saying he doesn't want his music used as a theme song for a 'divisive un-American campaign of ignorance and hate.'
After Trump was elected for the first time, Young penned an open letter calling Trump a 'disgrace' and 'the worst president in the history of our great country.'
Young has also been a vocal critic of Trump's tariffs targeting Canada and his threats of annexation. In April, he attended a protest against Trump's threats in Los Angeles, where he was spotted holding up a sign that read, 'HANDS OFF CANADA.'
Neil Young attends a protest on April 4, 2025.
Earlier this year, Young announced that he is releasing a new protest album with a newly assembled band called the Chrome Hearts, which includes guitarist Micah Nelson, bassist Corey McCormick, drummer Anthony Logerfo and organist Spooner Oldham. Titled 'Talkin to the Trees,' the album's first single is
about electric cars, and takes a shot at Tesla CEO and Trump ally Elon Musk
.
Young and the Chrome Hearts will perform in Toronto at the Budweiser Stage on Aug. 17.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Analysis-NATO's dilemma: how Zelenskiy can attend summit without provoking Trump
By Andrew Gray, Sabine Siebold and Lili Bayer BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Officials organising a NATO summit in The Hague this month are expected to keep it short, restrict discussion of Ukraine, and choreograph meetings so that Volodymyr Zelenskiy can somehow be in town without provoking Donald Trump. Though the Ukrainian president is widely expected to attend the summit in some form, NATO has yet to confirm whether he is actually invited. Diplomats say he may attend a pre-summit dinner but be kept away from the main summit meeting. Whether the brief summit statement will even identify Russia as a threat or express support for Ukraine is still up in the air. The careful steps are all being taken to avoid angering Washington, much less provoking any repeat of February's White House blow-up between Trump and Zelenskiy that almost torpedoed the international coalition supporting Kyiv. NATO's European members, who see Russia as an existential threat and NATO as the principal means of countering it, want to signal their continued strong support for Ukraine. But they are also desperate to avoid upsetting a volatile Trump, who stunned them at a summit seven years ago by threatening to quit the alliance altogether. If Zelenskiy does not attend in some form, it would be "at least a PR disaster", acknowledged a senior NATO diplomat. Since Russia's invasion three years ago, Zelenskiy has regularly attended NATO summits as the guest of honour, where alliance members pledged billions in weapons and condemned Russia for an illegal war of conquest. Leaders repeatedly promised that Ukraine would one day join NATO. But since Washington's shift under Trump towards partly accepting Russia's justifications for the war and disparaging Zelenskiy, the 32-member alliance no longer speaks with a single voice about Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two. Trump has taken Ukraine's NATO membership off the table, unilaterally granting Moscow one of its main demands. After dressing down Zelenskiy in the Oval Office in February, Trump cut vital U.S. military and intelligence support for Ukraine for days. Since then, the two men publicly mended fences in a meeting in St Peter's Basilica for the funeral of Pope Francis. But mostly they have spoken remotely, with Zelenskiy twice phoning the White House on speakerphone while surrounded by four friendly Europeans -- Britain's Keir Starmer, France's Emmanuel Macron, Germany's Friedrich Merz and Poland's Donald Tusk. SPENDING BOOST Trump is expected to come away from The Hague with a big diplomatic victory as NATO members heed his longstanding complaints that they do not spend enough on defence and agree a much higher target. They are expected to boost their goal for traditional military spending to 3.5% of economic output from 2%. A further pledge to spend 1.5% on related expenses such as infrastructure and cyber defence would raise the total to 5% demanded by Trump. But the summit itself and its accompanying written statement are expected to be unusually short, minimising the chances of flare-ups or disagreements. A pledge to develop recommendations for a new Russia strategy has been kicked into the long grass. Meanwhile, Zelenskiy may have to be content with an invitation to a pre-summit dinner, hosted by Dutch King Willem-Alexander, diplomats say. Unlike at NATO's previous two annual summits, the leaders do not plan to hold a formal meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, the official venue for talks between the alliance and Kyiv. The senior NATO diplomat said a working dinner with either foreign ministers or defence ministers could instead serve as an NUC. 'PROPERLY REPRESENTED' On Wednesday, NATO boss Mark Rutte said he had invited Ukraine to the summit, but sidestepped a question on whether the invitation included Zelenskiy himself. After meeting Rutte on Monday, Zelenskiy said on X that it was "important that Ukraine is properly represented" at the summit. "That would send the right signal to Russia," he said. U.S. and Ukrainian officials did not reply to questions about the nature of any invitation to Ukraine. Some European countries are still willing to say in public that they hope to see Zelenskiy invited as the head of the Ukrainian delegation. Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur said he would like to see a "delegation led by President Zelenskiy". Asked about an invitation for Zelenskiy, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said "I, for my part, strongly welcome the invitation" without giving further details. But diplomats have tried to play down the importance of the formal status of Zelenskiy's role: "Many allies want to have Zelenskiy at the summit, but there is flexibility on the precise format that would allow his presence," said a second senior NATO diplomat. A senior European diplomat said: "We should not get stuck on 'NUC or no NUC'. If he comes to the leaders' dinner, that would be the minimum." (Additional reporting by by Lidia KellyEditing by Peter Graff)
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Harvard University expands lawsuit on Trump's foreign student ban
Harvard University on Thursday expanded a lawsuit against the US government's decision to block international students from attending the elite institution. On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation suspending international visas for students due to national security concerns and their failure to comply with federal agencies. Harvard expanded a lawsuit it filed last month, challenging the ban. In the lawsuit, it accused the Trump administration of attempting to pressure the institution with an unlawful retaliatory measure. "With the stroke of a pen, the DHS [Department of Homeland Security] Secretary [Kristi Noem] and the President have sought to erase a quarter of Harvard's student body — international students who contribute significantly to the University and its mission and the country," the lawsuit says. "Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard." Late last month, a federal judge temporarily blocked the US government's plan to exclude foreign students. The judge's decision is likely to be just the first step in a long legal battle. It is not a final ruling. Trump has accused Harvard and other elite US universities of allowing anti-Semitism on campus. In April, his administration sent a list of demands to Harvard, which the institution has refused to adopt.
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Recession ‘100% on Trump's shoulders': Andrew Yang
(NewsNation) — Andrew Yang, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, says Elon Musk is '100% right' that the Trump administration's tariffs will 'push us into a recession in quarter three and four of 2025.' Yang joins NewsNation's 'CUOMO' and says the United States has never had 'one person's bone-headed decisions bring us into a recession, and that is the Trump presidency.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
