(Credits: Raph Pour-Hashemi / Daniel Torok)
Green Day have blasted Donald Trump and his allies after a rocket launch took place nearby to a festival they were headlining in California over the weekend.
During Cage the Elephant’s performance at the Ohana Festival in Dana Point on September 28th, a rocket was seen passing overhead from a launch pad located close to the site. Subsequently, when Green Day took to the stage afterwards, frontman Billie Joe Armstrong took a jibe at Trump in light of the incident.
While performing their song ‘Hitchin’ a Ride’, Armstrong took a moment to speak to fans and referenced the launch by saying: “A rocket? Is that what that was?”, before joking, “I was like, ‘There goes the Epstein files!’” which was met by huge cheers from the crowd as well as laughter from the rest of the band, particularly bassist Mike Dirnt.
Armstrong then went on to speculate that the rocket launch was facilitated by SpaceX owner and Trump ally Elon Musk, who also founded the car manufacturer Tesla. Referencing this, the frontman added: “Oh, Elon! Him and his ugly trucks. I’m in Orange County a lot, and I see a lot of those fuckin’ trucks. Can’t you be a regular redneck and just have a fuckin’ Ram?”
Green Day’s latest criticism of Trump and his administration comes after a long line of slams of the current US president from the band. One of his most recent controversies, involving both himself and Musk, is his refusal to release the confidential files related to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, whom Trump and Musk both had a relationship with prior to his death in 2019.
Elsewhere, Green Day have been at the forefront of criticising Trump since the beginning of his second administration at the start of this year. Most notably, Armstrong led chants of “fuck Donald Trump” during the band’s performance at Rock Werchter in Belgium on July 4th.
Also, earlier in the summer, Armstrong told fans at Download Festival, “We are slipping into fascism. Donald Trump and his administration are a fascist government. It is up to us to fight back,” in relation to the president’s enforcement of ICE raids across America.
@greenday_ita Bye bye Epstein Files 👋🏼👋🏼 Green Day during Hitchin a ride, Ohana festival, talking about a rocket that was launched before their set #greenday #epstein ♬ suono originale – Green Day Italia
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