Dem lawmaker sparks social media firestorm with 'cringe' anti-Trump guitar performance: 'Talk about tone-deaf'
Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Georgia, garnered some backlash from conservatives on social for a rendition of "Hey Joe," which was made popular by Jimi Hendrix and other artists in the '60s, which he retooled as a criticism of President Donald Trump.
"I hate to hurt your ears and everything, but I'm just learning to play guitar," he said in a video posted to X on Wednesday, adding that he was inspired by Black Music Month to provide political commentary through song.
He noted that he was "just learning to play guitar," then proceeded to sing an anti-Trump parody of the famous song.
"Hey Trump, where you goin' with that gun in your hand?" Johnson sang. "I'm goin' down the street to shoot democracy. You know I wanna be a king someday."
As of Friday afternoon, the video had received over 800 comments on the platform, most of which were criticisms from conservatives.
"Talk about Tone-Deaf messaging!" Media Research Center posted on X. "Democrat Rep. Hank Johnson releases hilariously bad anti-Trump song, and you just have to hear this."
"This would make Jimi Hendrix advocate for a ground war with Iran," Josh Holmes, co-host of the Ruthless Podcast, posted on X.
"Democrat Rep. Hank Johnson sings an Anti-Trump song on his guitar about Trump shooting down Democracy with a gun to be a king," conservative influencer account LibsofTikTok posted on X. "Yes, this is real…."
Another user simply quipped, "I love the internet."
"Heyyy Hank, Please tune that dang guitar if you can," another one wrote, directly pulling from the lyrics of the song. Hendrix most notably played "Hey Joe" at the notorious Woodstock Festival in 1969.
"Democrats are doing another one of their cringe sing-a-longs," Ben Petersen, National War Room Director of the National Republican Congressional Committee, posted on X.
"This horribly sounding performance is yet another waste of our tax dollars and proof of the uselessness of the Democrat Party," conservative influencer Paul A. Szypula posted on X.
"Ok. A few things. If you're going to do a song like this, it's best to tune your guitar beforehand," Jeff Charles, news editor at Townhall, posted on X. "Also, covering Jimi Hendrix when you don't know how to tune a guitar is cringe AF. The lyrics are something I could have come up with when I was five years old. I'm almost embarassed for him."
"Hank Johnson - Thinks Guam can capsize… Also Hank Johnson - Thinks he can play guitar," comedian Tim Young posted on X. "He's dumber than AOC.
Fox News Digital reached out to Johnson's office for comment.
The video comes as Democrats continue to experiment with different social media strategies during Trump's second term and have consistently faced criticism from conservatives for doing so, including earlier this year when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other House Democrats were lambasted online over "choose your fighter" TikTok video.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
14 minutes ago
- CBS News
Man arrested after fatal shooting at Utah "No Kings" rally released as probe continues
A man accused of brandishing a rifle at a "No Kings" rally in Salt Lake City that led to the accidental shooting of a protester was released from jail while the investigation continues. Salt Lake District Attorney Sim Gill's office said Friday that it was unable to decide on charges against Arturo Gamboa, who had been jailed on suspicion of murder following the June 14 shooting. Gamboa, 24, was taken into custody after he brought an assault-style rifle to the rally and was allegedly moving toward the crowd with the weapon raised, Salt Lake City police said. An armed safety volunteer for the event fired three shots, wounding Gamboa and killing a nearby demonstrator, Arthur Folasa Ah Loo. According to arrest documents, two designated peacekeepers saw Gamboa separating from the crowd, moving behind a wall, and pulling out a rifle, CBS affiliate KUTV reported. Gamboa did not fire his rifle, and it is unclear what he intended to do with it. A young man pays his respects to Arthur Folasa Ah Loo at a makeshift memorial in Salt Lake City, on the block where Ah Loo was fatally shot during a "No Kings" protest. Hannah Schoenbaum / AP Police said the day after the shooting that witnesses reported seeing Gamboa lift the rifle when he was ordered to drop it and that instead he began running toward the crowd. He fled after the shooting but was arrested nearby and accused of creating the dangerous situation that led to Ah Loo's death. Salt Lake City police said in a statement the next day that Gamboa "knowingly engaged in conduct ... that ultimately caused the death of an innocent community member." Three days after Gamboa was booked into jail, police issued a public appeal for any video footage related to the shooting or Gamboa. They said detectives were still trying "to piece together exactly what happened." His father, Albert Gamboa, told the Associated Press last week that his son was "an innocent guy" who was "in the wrong place at the wrong time." Utah is an open-carry state, meaning people who can legally own a firearm are generally allowed to carry it on a public street. The volunteer has not been publicly identified as investigators have worked to determine who was at fault. Judge James Blanch said in the release order that Gamboa must live with his father and is forbidden from possessing firearms. The conditions terminate after two months or if criminal charges against him are pursued, Blanch wrote. Gamboa's attorney, Greg Skordas, did not immediately respond to the AP's telephone message left for him seeking comment. Protest organizers have not said whether or how the safety volunteer who shot Ah Loo was trained or explained why he was armed. All attendees, including those in safety roles, were asked not to bring weapons, according to Sarah Parker, a national coordinator for the 50501 Movement. Parker's organization on Thursday said it was disassociating from a local chapter of the group that helped organize the Utah protest. Arthur Ah Loo on season 17 of "Project Runway." Miller Mobley/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images Ah Loo, 39, was a successful fashion designer who appeared on "Project Runway." The "No Kings" demonstration involving some 18,000 people was otherwise peaceful. It was one of hundreds nationwide against President Trump's military parade in Washington, which marked the Army's 250th anniversary and coincided with Mr. Trump's birthday.
Hamilton Spectator
17 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
After a senator's posts about the Minnesota shootings, his incensed colleagues refused to let it go
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mike Lee has in recent years become one of the Senate's most prolific social media posters, his presence seen in thousands of posts, often late at night, about politics. Fellow senators have grown accustomed to the Utah Republican's pugnacious online persona, mostly brushing it off in the name of collegiality. That is, until this past week. His posts, after the June 14 fatal shooting of a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband, incensed Lee's colleagues, particularly senators who were friends with the victims. It all added to the charged atmosphere in the Capitol as lawmakers once more confronted political violence in America. As the Senate convened for the week, Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., marched past a crowd of reporters and headed toward the Senate floor: 'I can't talk right now, I have to go find Sen. Lee.' Smith, whose name was listed in the suspected shooter's notebooks recovered by law enforcement officials, spoke to Lee for several minutes. The next day, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., did the same. By midday Tuesday, Lee had deleted his tweets. 'I would say he seemed surprised to be confronted,' Smith later told reporters. The shooting unfolds On the morning of June 14, Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., announced that former state House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, had been shot and killed in their home outside Minneapolis. Another Democratic lawmaker, state Sen. John Hoffman, and his wife, Yvette, were critically injured, in a shooting at their home nearby. The next day, as police searched for the shooter, Lee posted a photo of the alleged shooter with the caption 'Nightmare on Waltz street' — an apparent misspelled attempt to shift blame toward Walz, who was his party's vice presidential nominee in 2024. In a separate post on his personal account, @BasedMikeLee, the senator shared photos of the alleged suspect alongside the caption: 'this is what happens When Marxists don't get their way.' On his official Senate social media account, Lee was 'condemning this senseless violence, and praying for the victims and their families.' A spokesperson for Lee did not respond to a request for comment. The man arrested, Vance Luther Boelter, 57, held deeply religious and politically conservative views. After moving to Minnesota about a decade ago, Boelter volunteered for a position on a state workforce development board, first appointed by then-Gov. Mark Dayton, a Democrat, in 2016, and later by Walz. Boelter has been charged with two counts of murder and two of attempted murder. Lee's online posts draw bipartisan backlash Once a critic of Donald Trump, Lee has since become one of the president's most loyal allies. Lee's online persona is well established, but this year it has become especially prominent: a Salt Lake Tribune analysis found that in the first three months of 2025, Lee averaged nearly 100 posts per day on X. What was different this time was the backlash came not just from Democrats. To Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., Lee's posts were 'insensitive, to say the least, inappropriate, for sure' and 'not even true.' 'I just think whenever you rush to a judgment like this, when your political instincts kick in during a tragedy, you probably should realign some priorities,' Cramer said. Republican state Rep. Nolan West wrote on social media that his respect for Lee had been 'rescinded.' A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., did not respond to a request for comment. Last Monday night, after Smith's confrontation with Lee, a senior member of her staff sent a pointed message to Lee's office. 'It is important for your office to know how much additional pain you've caused on an unspeakably horrific weekend,' wrote Ed Shelleby, Smith's deputy chief of staff. He added, 'I pray that Senator Lee and your office begin to see the people you work with in this building as colleagues and human beings.' Lee avoided reporters for much of the week, though he did tell them he had deleted the posts after a 'quick' discussion with Klobuchar. Lee has not apologized publicly. 'We had a good discussion, and I'm very glad he took it down,' Klobuchar said at a news conference. Tragedy prompts reflection in Congress The uproar came at a tense time for the Senate, which fashions itself as a political institution that values decorum and respect. Senators are under intense pressure to react to the Trump administration's fast-paced agenda and multiple global conflicts. Republicans are in high-stakes negotiations over the party's tax and spending cuts plan. Democrats are anxious about how to confront the administration, especially after federal agents briefly detained Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., at a recent Department of Homeland Security news conference in California. Lawmakers believe it's time to lower the temperature. 'I don't know why Mike took the comments down, but it was the right thing to do,' said Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M. 'I appreciate my Republican colleagues who were very clear with their observations. And those that spoke up, I want to commend them.' He added: 'We just all have to talk to each other. And what I learned from this week is people need to lean on each other more, and just get to know each other more as well.' ___ Associated Press reporter Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Geek Tyrant
18 minutes ago
- Geek Tyrant
M.A.S.K. Returns With Classic Packaging and Nostalgic Power for 40th Anniversary — GeekTyrant
Last but not least is the Condor, the lime green motorcycle that can turn into a helicopter. It includes Brad Turner, and the sleek black accents on the bike give it an extra cool factor whether it's grounded or airborne. 'Throughout the mid-80s, the M.A.S.K. (Mobile Armored Strike Kommand) television series wowed audiences with 75 action-packed episodes following the namesake special task force led by Matt Tracker as it battled V.E.N.O.M. (Vicious Evil Network of Mayhem). The Loyal Subjects and Hasbro are celebrating the 40th anniversary of M.A.S.K. with a collectible toy line that captures everything that made M.A.S.K. such a legendary, pop culture-defining franchise.' Jonathan Cathey, CEO and Founder of The Loyal Subjects, added: 'We're so pumped to finally reveal our initial M.A.S.K. collection! We've put a lot of love into making sure these toys stay true to the original while bringing that classic magic into the modern day. Fans are going to love the attention to detail and high quality, including the conversions to battle modes!' Pre-orders go live July 1st on BigBadToyStore, with expanded availability in the U.S. and internationally starting September 2nd. Source: CB
