One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Green Day Chants 'No Trump / No KKK / No Fascist USA' During AMAs Performance
Billie Joe Armstrong and Tre Cool of Green Day during the American Music Awards (Getty Images)
The American Music Awards got political last night when Green Day, staying true to their punk personas, brought some politics to the stage. While performing their song "Bang Bang," they burst into MDC's "Born to Die" and improvised with: "No Trump / No KKK/ No fascist USA."
Green Day is doing it! #AMAs pic.twitter.com/IKcP7dbEfW
— Nicole Dellert (@nic_heartsburgs) November 21, 2016
Rolling Stone notes that "Born to Die" "has become a recent popular chant for students protesting Donald Trump's presidency." Watch their full performance here:
Green Day - Bang Bang (Live) #AMAs pic.twitter.com/pyoMUogTCT
— ✘José Navarro✘ (@FCB_Navarro) November 21, 2016
President-elect Trump has drawn criticism for appointing Breitbart News CEO Steve Bannon as his chief strategist in the White House, given that Breitbart News stories appear aligned with white nationalist causes. He also selected Senator Jeff Sessions as his Attorney General; Sessions has been accused of being racist and has opposed legal immigration.
Trump has not (yet?) commented on the performance, but he has liked Green Day in the past:
Melania and I saw American Idiot on Broadway last night and it was great. An amazing theatrical experience!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 21, 2010
Sponsored message
Update: Green Day's chant was apparently impromptu, or at least not practiced during rehearsals. TMZ reports, "We're told ABC execs were completely off-guard. It's unclear if Green Day knowingly kept the chant out of rehearsals, or if Billie Joe Armstrong made a last minute decision to include the political message."
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
