Ted Nugent is clearly a proponent of the old saw “keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” The MAGA bow hunting enthusiast proved it once again over the weekend when he lashed out at a number of rock stars for their political stances while occasionally offering up praise for their musical abilities.
The kiss with a fist comments came during one of Nugent’s “Let’s Talk Music” podcasts on New Year’s Day (Jan. 1), during which Nugent appeared to space on the name of the “guy in the White Stripes,” while referencing Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and fellow Detroit native Jack White.
Unlike Nugent, a vocal supporter of Donald Trump, White has been a loud and proud enemy of the White House, repeatedly lambasting Trump for everything from his “vile,” hate-filled post about the murder of beloved filmmaker Rob Reiner to mocking the president’s gaudy, gold-plated White House makeover.
And while the “Wang Dang Sweet Poontang” singer was mildly supportive of White’s surprise Thanksgiving halftime team-up with another D-Town legend, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame rapper Eminem, during a Detroit Lions game, his praise was confusing, then not so.
“Jack White, is that his name? Jack White. No, I think The White Stripes, is that his name?,” Nugent said, acting as if he was unaware of the name of one of the city’s biggest modern rock icons. “Anyhow, he was great. It wasn’t like a 10 like Sammy Hagar or James Brown. I think Sammy Hagar and James Brown and Steven Tyler, those are tens. Angus Young of AC/DC, that’s a 10. The guy’s a maniac. Billy Gibbons in the blues, rhythm and blues, soul music category, he’s a 10.”
He then amended his rating to a “four and a five,” and while saying White “really delivered,” Nugent made sure to add that he thinks both Slim Shady and White are “total idiots. They don’t want their country to have secure borders. They think men should destroy women’s sports. Well, that’s not… that’s exactly what they stand for,” Nugent said of the alleged stances neither act are known to have made in any public forum, but which he seemed to extrapolate based on both acts’ distaste for Trump.
“When you hate Donald Trump, you you want men in women’s sports to destroy women’s rights. That’s what these guys stand for. They don’t think our border should be secured,” Nugent continued. “They think we should invite jihadists in who announce they want to kill the infidels. They announce they want to kill Americans. And Jack White and Eminem say, ‘Yeah, bring them in. Bring those guys in.’ Freaks, idiots.”
The unsubstantiated claims about White and Eminem led to some additional hate for Rock Hall members Green Day, who have also been very vocal about their disdain for Trump. “But their [Eminem, White] music is soulful. Just like Green Day,” he added. “Green Day, there’s not a brain amongst them, I don’t think. But man, can they play really, really killer stuff.”
And while Rage Against the Machine guitarist and solo performer Tom Morello has said in the past that Nugent is a “good friend” of his and that the “Cat Scratch Fever” singer’s “libertarian edge” sometimes matches up with his own “anarchist edge,” Nugent had some smoke for his pal as well, whose name he also seemed to fumble over.
“Tom Morello, Is that his name? Tom Morel?,” Nugent said of Rock Hall member Morello. “Who played with Springsteen and Rage Against the Machine, when actually they are the machine. Come on Tom, you got to know that. You’re not raging against the machine. You are the machine.”
Seemingly lumping White, Green Day and Morello together, Nugent claimed without any evidence, “they don’t believe that America should have secure borders, which means they don’t believe in America. Which means they want to have a great successful [sic] like in America, but they don’t think you should be able to have one.”
Nugent was more straight-up complimentary towards English singer Yungblud, however, calling him the “real McCoy,” and praising his work with Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, with whom he collaborated on last year’s One More Time joint EP. “The original Chuck Berry, Little Richard is alive and well is this kid called Yungblud from England,” he enthused.
