Green Day used last night’s American Music Awards to deliver a provocative message to President-elect Donald Trump and his supporters.
The punk band performed “Bang, Bang,” the first single from this year’s Revolution Radio, last night at the AMAs with riot-gear urgency—except the group swapped in a few choice words. Singer Billie Joe Armstrong led a chant of “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA!,” a modern nod to MDC’s 1982 jam “Born to Die” (which stated “No war, no KKK, no fascist USA”). It’s a pretty powerful moment for prime-time television.
Here’s the exact moment it happened:
No KKK, No fascist USA, No Trump! pic.twitter.com/Lv2pRgOJJX
— Green Day Authority (@GDA) November 21, 2016
The reaction online was swift and mostly positive.
Can’t believe that in 2016 “No Trump, no KKK, no facist USA” even has to be said, but hey, happy Green Day pissed off some conservatives!
— stepheneamonn.bsky.social (@StephenEamonn) November 21, 2016
The people that are salty af that Green Day said “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA” have never actually heard the American Idiot album
— Julio César (@VForVillegas) November 21, 2016
https://twitter.com/tattedpoc/status/800542117068054528
me: green day who
— taylor (@republicanphobe) November 21, 2016
green day: no trump! no kkk! no fascist USA!
me: Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1986 by vocalist/guitar
While the world awaits Trump’s 3am tweets about the protest, Uproxx dug up this instantly ironic tweet from 2010, in which he applauds a Broadway performance of American Idiot, Green Day’s damning protest album about life under the Bush administration.
H/T Uproxx