Green Day slams 'MAGA agenda,' Republicans shocked to learn 'American Idiot' is political
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Conservatives are apparently shocked and appalled to learn that the band who made "American Idiot" doesn't like former President Donald Trump.
Iconic punk-rock band Green Day gave their classic hit a modern twist in a New Years Eve performance on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest. The out bisexual lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong altered the lyrics of the song — which shares a title with the group's seventh studio album — during the Sunday night show to take a dig at Trump and his supporters.
"I'm not part of the MAGA agenda," Armstrong belted, replacing the original version of "I'm not part of the redneck agenda."
— (@)
The musician's political views are far from secret. The album and song "American Idiot," released in 2004, were initially written in part as a critique of former President George W. Bush's administration, including his policies during the Iraq War and hard-fisted response to 9/11.
Armstrong has long been an outspoken hater of Trump as well, and would often shout "Fuck you, Donald Trump!" in performances of "American Idiot" as far back as 2016. He also chanted "No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA" in a performance of "Bang Bang" during the American Music Awards that year.
In fact, the recent New Years Eve show is not even the first instance Armstrong has swapped "redneck agenda" for "MAGA agenda," as he did the same lyric change during at least one show in 2019, at the iHeartRadio Music Festival.
This still didn't stop conservatives from becoming outraged by Armstrong's latest performance, or from taking to social media to demonstrate their media illiteracy. Twitter/X owner Elon Musk wrote that the band had gone "from raging against the machine to milquetoastedly raging for it," spurring others to call the group "sellouts" and government "bootlickers."
Fans of Green Day were quick to make fun of the right-wingers who complained, with many noting that the people who get upset about the band's political statements are likely the very people Armstrong is singing about.
— (@)
