Donald Trump, take note; this is how to condemn bigotry.
Kid Rock — who signaled a possible run for U.S. Senate in his home state of Michigan earlier this year — kicked off his concert in Grand Rapids on Wednesday with a fiery speech, taking aim at Nazis, the KKK and the Black Lives Matter movement with salty-tongued gusto.
Taking the stage to the strains of “Hail to the Chief” and riling up the crowd from behind an eagle seal-bedecked podium, the “Devil Without a Cause” musician declared, “Call me a racist because I’m not PC, as if you have to remind me that black lives matter. Nazis, f—ing bigots, and now, again, the KKK? I say, screw all you a–holes, stay the f— away.”
“It’s no secret we’re divided, and we all should take some blame,” the musician continued.
Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert Ritchie, signaled his intention to run for Senate in July, sharing the website kidrockforsenate.com and tweeting, “I will have a major announcement in the near future.”
Rock has been suggested as a possible Republican candidate to challenge Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), who was first elected in 2000.
Shortly after teasing his candidacy, he took a page from the Donald Trump Playbook, slamming the media for supposedly spreading fake news.
“Once again the press is wrong. First of all, I’ve got 15 days from my announcement to file paperwork with the FEC! Second, I’m not signed to Warner Bros!!! – which simple fact-checking would have revealed,” the musician fumed on Facebook. “I have recently worked out a unique deal with BMG, Broken Bow, CAA and Live Nation to release music ON MY TERMS.”
He also blessed his Facebook followers with two music videos — for the songs, “Greatest Show on Earth” and “Po-Dunk” — noting that he planned to release new music while stumping for office, much like other politicians write books from the campaign trail.