“When I go to play music in Europe, if I talk about Donald J. Trump, I may be one of those returning to America who is barred or put in jail to sleep on a cement floor with an aluminum blanket,” Young wrote. “That is happening all the time now. Countries have new advice for those returning to America. You can read about it at the CANADA Desk. If I come back from Europe and am barred, can’t play my USA tour, all of the folks who bought tickets will not be able to come to a concert by me.”
He continued, “That’s right folks, if you say anything bad about Trump or his administration, you may be barred from re-entering USA. If you are Canadian. If you are a dual citizen like me, who knows? We’ll all find that out together.”
Young did not hold back on his feelings about the president, continuing, “If the fact that I think Donald Trump is the worst president in the history of our great country could stop me from coming back, what does that say for Freedom? I love America and its people and its music and its culture. … Remember Freedom of Speech?”
The musician made the comments Tuesday on his Neil Young Archives website. Although it is April Fool’s Day, which renders all controversial posts subject to extra scrutiny, Young’s message is not in jest, falling right in line with other distressed thoughts he has recently shared about Trump.
The rocker’s missive continued: “By these latest actions of our US government, it seems that those who speak out freely with their own opinions are now vulnerable to a non-existent Trump law. Then it seems to me that if you voted for Kamala Harris over Trump, that makes it possible for you to go to jail or be detained, punished in some way for not showing allegiance to what? How spineless is that? Trump is not be able to stand up to anyone who does not agree with his ideas? Remember, all months have 30 days.”
His conclusion: “One country, indivisible, with Liberty and Freedom for all. Remember that? I do.”
Young has a tour booked for the U.S. with his band the Chrome Hearts starting Aug. 8 in Charlotte, including a Sept. 15 gig at the Hollywood Bowl. Prior to that, he will be performing across Europe from June 8 through July 13.
Young’s message Tuesday followed one he posted just the day before, on March 31, titled “I love music, but that’s only half the story,” in which he wrote: “Our rights to free speech are being taken away and buried by our government. Reporters who do not agree with our government have been banned from interviewing our President. Canadian-Americans like me have had their freedom threatened by activities such as taking private info from their devices and using it to block them from entering our country – ie: If you don’t agree with our government, you are barred from entering or sent to jail. …
“Music is my love and my life. I want that for my children and theirs. That’s why I’m here doing this today instead of just selling you records. There is plenty of music-associated news in the Times Contrarian [Young’s newspaper-style content site] and you can easily find it here. Choose the Music News section or the World News section at the top of the page. Check out your music and the rest too. Don’t let your knowledge be limited by today’s politics and the controlling Trump agenda that challenges your basic American freedoms. You elected this president. He is your President. Elon Musk? Really? Think about it. He is a threat to America, enabled by our president because of the millions he spent supporting our president’s election.”
Young has used his website to share other people’s commentary on Trump’s actions, too, including his reprinting Tuesday of an opinion piece from the Guardian, by writer Steven Green house, titled “Trump claimed he was pro-worker. His new order shows how absurd that was.”
From Variety US