Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong Warns About U.S. ‘Slipping Into Fascism' During Download Festival Set: ‘It's Up to Us to Fight Back!'
Billie Joe Armstrong has never held back on his contempt for Donald Trump. The Green Day singer has been raging against the policies of the 45th and now 47th president for years, and during the band's first-ever set at the Download Festival in Donington Park in the U.K. on Friday (June 13), the singer lashed out at the U.S. president in unequivocal terms.
'Donald Trump in his administration is a fascist government,' Armstrong told the crowd. 'And it's up to us to fight back.' The comments came just a day before Trump presided over his long-awaited military parade in Washington, D.C. The rare display of military hardware and marching soldiers was meant to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, whilst also coinciding with Trump's 79th birthday.
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Though the D.C. event did not appear to draw the massive crowds the administration had predicted, a record number of Americans did turn out in historic numbers to protest the Trump White House's agenda at more than 2,100 'No Kings' rallies, which drew an estimated five million attendees. The rallies featured a profusion of colorful, often profane signs lambasting Trump for what critics argued are imperial tactics to seize as many levers of government power as possible while attempting to drastically cut crucial social services, gutting environmental regulations and using the power of the White House to attack, and punish, perceived enemies.
In addition, Armstrong got the Download crowd to join him in calling Trump a 'fat bastard,' in the singer's latest broadside against the current administration. Back in March, less than 24 hours after Trump and Vice President JD Vance attacked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during an Oval Office meeting in which the veep accused the wartime leader of being insufficiently grateful for U.S. aid for its three-year battle against Russia.
'Am I retarded or am I just JD Vance,' Armstrong sang in a lyrical tweak to the lyrics to 'Jesus of Suburbia,' amending the politically incorrect-on-purpose original, 'Am I retarded or am I just overjoyed?'
Last weekend, Armstrong sent a message of solidarity to protesters in Los Angeles who took to the streets to rally against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in the city, as well as the president's decision to deploy the National Guard to L.A. over the mayor, and Gov. Gavin Newson's, objections.
On June 8, Armstrong posted a video of protests from downtown L.A. on his Instagram Stories, captioned it with a middle-finger emoji and an ice cube, cued to a live version of 'F— Off,' a song on the group's Saviors (Édition de Luxe), the 2025 deluxe version of Green Day's 2024 album.
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A scenario where Trump issues a sweeping ultimatum to Iran, demands the dismantling of its missile and proxy projects, and positions himself as the architect of Iran's "freedom moment" might fit this brand. What follows could be very interesting indeed. At a moment of grave uncertainty, one thing is not in doubt: Even though a period of chaos may follow a collapse of the regime, the 90 million people of Iran deserve better than the theocratic prison they've been consigned to since 1979. Dan Perry is the former Cairo-based Middle East editor (also leading coverage from Iran) and London-based Europe/Africa editor of the Associated Press, the former chairman of the Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem, and the author of two books. Follow him at The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
