Dee Snider says that Donald Trump‘s praise of despotic and brutal leaders like Kim Jong-un is an “insult” to the TWISTED SISTER singer’s father, who was a Korean War vet.
Snider, who found himself in the middle of controversy in 2016 when he asked Trump to stop using the 1984 TWISTED SISTER anthem “We’re Not Gonna Take It” in his campaign, spoke about the billionaire real estate mogul while promoting his live set, “For The Love Of Metal Live!”, on “Rock Of Nations With Dave Kinchen”.
Dee said (hear audio below): “When Donald Trump called me up and said, ‘Hey, man, I’m running for president. Can I use your song?’, I’m, like, ‘Yeah, man. We’re friends. Go. Go, go, go, go.’ And then he started talking about the things he believed in, which were very different than the things I believed in. Not everything, but some important things. My kids, they’re very, very Bernie [Sanders] people, they were, like, ‘Dad, you’ve gotta go to the press. You’ve gotta stop this.’ I said, ‘No. The man asked me for permission. I gave it to him. I will call him up as a gentleman and ask him to stop.’ And I called him, and I said, ‘Look, man, we’re not on the same page.’ And I said, ‘I need you to stop.’ And he said, ‘Okay.'”
Snider continued: “Traveling the world, I’m not happy with the way we’re viewed outside the United States. And also, I’m not happy as my father was a vet. He fought in Korea. A hundred seventy thousand men and women died — mostly men died; my father nearly died — fighting North Korea, and to be friends with [North Korean leader] Kim Jong-un… [My father] was fighting China, Russia and North Korea. They were unified, and those tigers have not changed their stripes, people. Do not think for a second that they have changed their stripes. And it’s kind of an insult to my dad to see our president buddying up to these countries — not so much with China; he butts heads with them. But North Korea — disgusting, disgraceful. Sorry. This is the way I feel. I’m very proud of my dad’s service, and it’s just an insult to him.”
Dee, who got to know Trump personally after appearing more than once on “The Celebrity Apprentice”, has been an outspoken critic of America’s 45th president, tweeting incessantly against Trump‘s administration and blasting Trump as “a commie-loving traitor” who is prostituting our democracy. He has also engaged in heated Twitter fights with Trump followers, some of whom have taken issue with his colorful delivery and unapologetic tone.
Earlier this year, Snider criticized Trump over his handling of the coronavirus outbreak, saying that Trump‘s response to COVID-19 has been “to politicize it and separate us more and make it about politics instead of about joining together and helping each other. This was an opportunity to really bring the country together over something really important, that rises above all the other B.S. in the world,” he said. “And he failed to do that, and we’re seeing the results.”
Two weeks ago, Snider defended his “aggressive and intense” approach in dealing with “idiot Trump followers” on social media, saying that he is “trying to lead by example.”
