Neil Young made it clear once again on Friday that he doesn’t like it when one of his songs is used during a public appearance by President Trump.
On Friday night, Young’s 1989 song “Rockin ‘in the Free World” was played during the President’s Independence Day weekend event on Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.
“This is NOT okay for me,” the Canadian-born rocker who became a US citizen in January after living in northern California for decades wrote on social media.
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In another message, Young wrote: “I stand in solidarity with the Lakota Sioux and this is NOT okay with me.”
Before Trump’s arrival in South Dakota, Native American tribes planned to protest the event, which has long viewed Mount Rushmore as a desecration of lands that were violently stolen from them and used to pay tribute to hostile leaders towards the natives.
“Mount Rushmore is a symbol of white supremacy, of structural racism that is still alive and well in today’s society,” Nick Tilsen, a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe and president of a local activist organization called NDN Collective, told The Associated Press . “It is an injustice to actively steal the lands of indigenous peoples and then carve the white faces of the conquerors who committed genocide.”
Young previously complained that the Trump campaign used the same song at least twice before, in 2018 and 2015.
Neil Young doesn’t like it when his songs are played at President Trump events, but the President’s campaign claims he has legal rights to use music.
“DT does not have my permission to use the song ‘Rockin’ In The Free World ‘in his appearances,” Young told Rolling Stone magazine in 2018. “Legally, he has the right to do so, however it is against my wishes. “
After Young complained in 2015, then-Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski told Fox News that the campaign had legally secured rights to use Young’s song.
“Through a licensing agreement with ASCAP, Mr. Trump’s campaign paid for and obtained the legal right to use Neil Young’s recording of ‘Rockin’ In The Free World, ‘” Lewandowski said at the time. However, there are many other songs to choose from. Despite Neil’s differing political views, Trump likes him very much. “
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Young, 74, claimed earlier this year that his application for US citizenship had been delayed because of his “marijuana use.”
After he was finally approved, he posted a photo of himself on social media, showing himself waving next to an American flag, near a table marked “Democrats sign up to vote here.”
“I am happy to report that I am in !!” Young captioned the photo. “Vote your conscience”.
Tyler McCarthy and The Associated Press of Fox News contributed to this story.
