#Green Day Bash “MAGA Agenda” During “American Idiot” Performance on ‘Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve’

Green Day used their performance on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve on Sunday night to make the ABC special’s audience aware of their political views.

During a performance of the group’s 2004 hit “American Idiot,” initially written during George W. Bush’s presidency about the Iraq war, frontman Billie Joe Armstrong changed the lyrics from, “I’m not part of a redneck agenda” to “I’m not part of the MAGA agenda.”

The tweak, which the rockers previously made during a performance of the song during the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas, seemed directed at former President Donald Trump and his supporters who have embraced his “Make America Great Again” slogan.

The moment has sparked a backlash from a number of social media users, including Trump supporters. Among those going after the band was Hercules star Kevin Sorbo, who wrote, “Punk rock is pro big government.”

But this is far from the first time the group and Armstrong have gone after Trump.

In August 2016, Armstrong told Kerrang! magazine, “The worst problem I see about Trump is who his followers are. I actually feel bad for them, because they’re poor, working-class people who can’t get a leg up. They’re pissed off and he’s preyed on their anger.”

“He just said, ‘You have no options and I’m the only one, and I’m going to take care of it myself.’ I mean, that’s f—ing Hitler, man!” he continued. “I don’t even know how else to explain it. I wish I were over-exaggerating. And sometimes maybe I do over-exaggerate with Bush. But with Trump, I just can’t wait until he’s gone.”

At the 2016 American Music Awards, the band yelled “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA” during the performance of their song “Bang Bang.”

And in 2017, during the band’s tour, Armstrong would shout “Fuck you, Donald Trump!” while performing “American Idiot.”

“I want people to feel unity when they come to a show. At the same time, I’m not going to puss out on saying what I feel about him and his administration,” Armstrong told Rolling Stone that year. “There are a lot of people in the quote, unquote red states that get a big sense of relief when I say something like ‘Fuck you, Trump.’ That’s because they’re in the minority where they live and at our shows they get this sort of release,” he continued.

After Trump was charged with attempting to interfere with Georgia’s election process in the 2020 presidential race and his mugshot was released in August, the group sold an “ultimate Nimrod” shirt with the phrase over Trump’s booking photo. Proceeds from the limited edition merch went to the Greater Good Music charity, which Green Day noted at the time was bringing food to those affected by the Maui wildfires.

On New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, Green Day also performed hits “Basket Case” and “Welcome to Paradise,” off of their breakout album Dookie, celebrating its 30th anniversary; “Holiday,” from American Idiot, celebrating its 20th anniversary; and “Dilemma” from their new album Saviors, out Jan. 19, before the band embarks on a tour with Smashing Pumpkins, Rancid and the Linda Lindas.

Dick Clark Productions, which produces Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest, is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Penske Media Corporation and Eldridge that also owns The Hollywood Reporter.