DEE SNIDER: Why I Voted For HILLARY CLINTON Over My Friend DONALD TRUMP
November 16, 2016TWISTED SISTER frontman Dee Snider was interviewed on a recent edition of "Larry King Now", the show hosted by legendary 82-year-old newscaster Larry King. You can now watch the chat below.
Snider found himself in the middle of controversy earlier this year when he asked his friend, U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, to stop using the 1984 TWISTED SISTER anthem "We're Not Gonna Take It" in his campaign. The singer — who got to know Trump personally after appearing more than once on "The Celebrity Apprentice" — said Trump was very gracious about the request and they're still friends, though they don't see eye-to-eye on anything socio-political.
"[During the campaign, Trump] started talking about the things that we never spoke about over dinner — about the wall, and about… all these different things," Snider explained in the interview which was taped earlier in the month. "And I was, like, 'Woah!' And my band was going, 'Hey…' Some of the guys agreed, some didn't agree, but I was, like, 'I'm not seeing eye-to-eye [with him] on this.' And then the line that [he crossed] for me was when he wanted to ban all Muslims. Now my grandfather was a persecuted Russian Jew who escaped, came to America and was granted asylum, basically. And because he was granted asylum by this great country, I'm here and living my dream."
He continued: "I called [Trump] up at that point and said, 'I need you to stop playing the song.' And he said, 'Okay.' And that's a class act — to ask permission, which nobody does, and then when asked to stop and I explained why, he stopped that night, and never used it again."
Asked if he thinks "the real" Donald Trump is "anti-gay, anti-abortion and pro-Second Amendment," Snider responded: "I absolutely do not. I'm pro-Second Amendment, but I'm pro women's right to choose. A lot of these philosophies… I mean, he was a Democrat [until] a few years back. He's a New York guy… I don't know what's going on."
Pressed on whether he was planning to vote for Hillary Clinton on November 8, Snider said: "I absolutely am. And again, it's one of those elections of… these are our choices: you either don't use our amazing right to vote and not vote at all, which I think is a mistake, or you pick one and you go with it."
Trump shocked the political establishment and the world by becoming the 45th president in one of the biggest upsets in U.S. political history. He won with 289 electoral votes compared to 218 for Hillary Clinton. 270 were needed to win. Clinton, however, handily won the popular vote, despite losing the overall election.
While many rock artists had been against Trump, artists like STAIND's Aaron Lewis, Kid Rock and FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's Zoltan Bathory had thrown their support behind the real estate magnate, who has no previous governing experience.
Comments Disclaimer And Information