Guns N’ Roses singer Axl Rose didn’t hold back in his response to Donald Trump, who took aim at the “lamestream” media amid nationwide protests calling for justice in the death of George Floyd. Trump, 73, accused the media for doing “everything within their power to foment hatred and anarchy,” in a tweet on May 31. The rock legend, 58, responded the next day on June 1.
Lamestream media ISN’T doing everything within their power 2 foment hatred n’ anarchy, that’s U! As long as we get what Ur doing, that Ur FAKE NEWS n’ a truly bad, repulsive excuse 4 a person w/a sick agenda, we can work past U w/whatever it takes 2 a better, stronger future!!
— Axl Rose (@axlrose) June 1, 2020
“Lamestream media ISN’T doing everything within their power 2 foment hatred n’ anarchy, that’s U!” Rose tweeted, turning the blame on the president. “As long as we get what Ur doing, that Ur FAKE NEWS n’ a truly bad, repulsive excuse 4 a person w/a sick agenda, we can work past U w/whatever it takes 2 a better, stronger future!!” he concluded, without tagging Trump.
The Lamestream Media is doing everything within their power to foment hatred and anarchy. As long as everybody understands what they are doing, that they are FAKE NEWS and truly bad people with a sick agenda, we can easily work through them to GREATNESS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 31, 2020
Trump’s full tweet on Sunday read: “The Lamestream Media is doing everything within their power to foment hatred and anarchy. As long as everybody understands what they are doing, that they are FAKE NEWS and truly bad people with a sick agenda, we can easily work through them to GREATNESS!”
This isn’t the first time the Guns N’ Roses frontman has spoken out against the Trump administration. Last month, he got into a public dispute on social media with U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin. Rose called Mnuchin “an a–hole” on Twitter, but didn’t provide reason behind his tweet.
Rose isn’t the only celebrity to speak out on social media against the president and the way he’s handled recent events in America, from police brutality and racial injustice, to the COVID-19 pandemic. Also on May 31, Ice-T tweeted that Trump should “come outside and speak to the people,” as the president has yet to hold a press conference about the protests — some of which turned violent at the White House on May 29. The actor backtracked his statement in the same tweet, adding, “Second thought, maybe not,” [about the Trump addressing the nation].
Trump has come under fire for his “lack of action” amid the ongoing nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd. Floyd died after being restrained by Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, who was filmed with his knee on Floyd’s neck for eight minutes before he died. After the video became public, Chauvin was fired from the police department and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter on May 29.