GENE SIMMONS On Political Polarization In The U.S.: 'People On Both Sides Of The Fence, I Believe, Have Gone To The Extreme'

KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons was a guest on the latest episode of "We'll Do It LIVE", the weekly sitdown between conservative commentator Bill O'Reilly and celebrities and newsmakers from a wide range of fields. During the chat, which can be seen in its entirety below, the 76-year-old musician addressed the fact that U.S. faces increasing levels of political polarization, where bipartisan disagreements over moral, cultural and socioeconomic issues have turned into social conflict, political gridlock, and personal animosity. He said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "You can argue and hate [current U.S. president Donald Trump], and you're allowed to do that, but you have to recognize the fact that 'of the people, for the people, by the people' means that the people have spoken. He won the election by millions, and the electoral college as well. End of story. You don't like it, you can wait until the next election and vote your conscience. [Editor's note: Trump won 77,302,580 votes, or 49.8 percent of the votes cast for president in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Kamala Harris won 75,017,613 votes or 48.3 percent of the votes cast.]

Gene continued: "When I was growing up, nobody ever asked me, 'Who did you vote for?' What do you mean, 'Who did you vote for?' Who are you, and what business is it of yours who I vote for? There used to be a curtain. You went behind it. You pulled the curtain because it was nobody's business. You vote your conscience. Leave politics out of it when we sit around and break bread.

"I can break bread with anybody in this, other than Nazis, who completely disagree [with me]. Well, keep your feelings to yourself, and your power is the voting booth."

Asked if the Bruce Springsteen point of view regarding Trump — Springsteen has called Trump "reckless, racist, incompetent" and "treasonous" — is one that is prevalent within the music industry, Gene said: "Oh, yeah. On the [part of the] performers, not the audience."

After O'Reilly said that he puts that "on the agents and the bookers" who pressure the artists to "think a certain way to get in the clubs" that they are booking, Gene said: "I'm not sure if that's accurate, but I will say the lay of the land, I notice, is mostly they are... In the same way that if you go to California, it is a blue state. It's mostly Democrat, and as you get to the major cities, it's mostly progressive, far left Democrats. I mean, the runoff now in the Democratic Party [in California] are two people who I wouldn't vote for if you paid me for it. On the other hand, if you paid me enough, I might consider [it]… I think Steve [Hilton] should be the next governor [of California]."

Simmons clarified: "I'm not beholden to any political point of view or anything. I'm about issues, which is why I have friends from every area. I do business with all kinds of people. If I only did business with people who are Republicans and so on, it wouldn't make financial sense because people of all political beliefs do business. So business is not what your political beliefs are. It's whether or not we can both have a win-win relationship."

When O'Reilly noted that a "monolith has developed in the entertainment industry" whereby musicians, actors and directors tend to promote a progressive or liberal point of view, Simmons said: "It will swing. The pendulum swings… There's no question, because you've seen how politics — sometimes the far left takes a hold and the pendulum goes this way, and sometimes Republicans get into government and so on. And so laws keep changing state to state."

Gene continued: "People on both sides of the fence, I believe, have gone to the extreme so that it's 'my party says this is the way to do it. If you don't march along with exactly these things…' Which is why I'm much more a free thinker and closer to the center. On certain areas, I agree with either party. I'm a firm believer that the [Mexico] wall should be built. Absolutely. The previous Pope was a nice man and so on, I respected him, said that it's inhumane to have a wall between Mexico and America. Except for the fact that the Vatican has a massive wall around it for the same reason that we should. Border security. You wanna know who's coming into your border. Not that they shouldn't. Do it through the legal system."

Asked if his "freedom of intellectual thought" has cost him any work, Gene said: "Yeah. There's such a thing as being canceled.

"I didn't always agree with my mother, and I would give my life for my mother," Simmons explained. "This idea of always agreeing with somebody is lunacy. Sometimes they're wrong — for you."

Pressed to give examples of when his opinions cost him work, Simmons said: "There were maybe two or three shows where somebody asked me on camera locally, as I'm doing interviews, 'What do you think of the president?' And I said, 'I don't have any problem getting the Kennedy Center Awards at all. He's the president of these United States, and he was legally voted into power. And if you don't like the man, you can at least respect the presidency.' And this idea of just banding about 'Trump this' and 'Trump that'. No, it's President Trump, just like a doctor. I don't like my doctor, but he's a doctor. Doctor so-and-so. And that was not a popular sentiment."

Asked if anybody confronted him on it, Gene said: "Yes, I lost those two or three shows."

In a separate interview with Newsmax's "Ed Henry The Big Take", Gene elaborated on his viral remarks in which he told celebrities lecturing their fans on political issues to "shut their pie hole." He said: "Well, look, I have a different point of view about politicians. I do want them to speak up because I don't trust any of them. I don't care what part of the aisle. Your self-mandate is to get re-elected, so you will tend to say things that your potential voters might wanna hear… But if you're a celebrity, basically shut your pie hole — or the Joint Chiefs of Staff should sit down with Kylie Jenner, who I admire and who has got a billion dollars in her bank account; she's got a new lip gloss, we should find out what to do in Iran and body politic because she's famous, you see. And that makes about as much sense as asking a guy who sticks his tongue out for a living what he thinks about the body politic or politicians. Basically, shut your pie hole. We don't care."

Asked what his "inspiration" was for his original comments, which were first reported by TMZ, Gene said: "Well, look, I'm a legal immigrant, because there is a difference, and I live in the most enchanting place on the face of the planet. I was born in the Promised Land, but trust me, I'm the embodiment of the American Dream way beyond anything I ever dreamed of. And this country iis messy. Democracy is messy. One side is trying to get the goat of the other side and so on. So I don't subscribe, by the way, to the notion of red states and blue states because this president, who I knew before he became political, in clubs and just had enough face time with him to know that he believes in an America that is not blue or red. In fact, the president won most of the states, the popular vote and the electoral vote, so you can't say it's a red state or a blue state. People make up their minds about issues and vote their conscience. And so I believe there is no difference between red or blue. There is a difference between people who are delusional and can't... Well, I can't talk about they, them, or anything else 'cause people get so upset about everything. Everybody's upset about everything. I don't care."

Simmons, who appeared with Trump on the first season of "Celebrity Apprentice" in 2008, previously called Trump "good for the political system" in a 2016 interview with Rolling Stone.

"He is the truest political animal I've ever seen onstage," Simmons said at the time. "He has no speechwriters, no editing, no nothing. He's actually on tape going 'motherfucker.' You cannot turn away.… He has said some very vile, unkind things. But don't kid yourself. He speaks off the cuff, and what you see is what you get. And he'll double down."

Added Simmons: "He's not there to be your friend…. He's good for the political system."

Gene later offered a different assessment of Trump, telling Spin magazine in May 2022 about the president's first term: "I knew him before he entered politics. Look what that gentleman did to this country and the polarization — got all the cockroaches to rise to the top. Once upon a time, you were embarrassed to be publicly racist and out there with conspiracy theories. Now it's all out in the open because he allowed it."

Referencing his appearance on "The Apprentice", Simmons told the magazine being president is a very different job than hosting a game show. "You have a different responsibility when you're just a citizen or an entrepreneur. You don't make policy," he said. "It doesn't affect life and death. When you get into a position of power, it does affect lives. I don't think he's a Republican or a Democrat. He's out for himself, any way you can get there. And in the last election, over 70 million people bought it hook, line and sinker."