Kid Rock recently sat down for a live interview with Tucker Carlson at Grand Rapids, Michigan’s Van Andel Arena, part of the former Fox News host’s arena tour. The full discussion is now available on the Tucker Carlson YouTube channel, and we’ve included the video below.
During their conversation, Carlson asked Kid Rock, a vocal supporter of former U.S. president and current presidential candidate Donald Trump, what motivated him to publicly express his conservative political views.
“I mean, part of it was I got older and wiser, but to be honest, I had the money in the bank. At the end of the day, when I really thought about it — it sounds hokey, but I just care about this country too much. It wasn’t really a conscious decision; I just started getting involved. One thing led to another after a couple of talks with friends.”
Kid Rock emphasized his independence: “I’m not one of these people with a big machine behind me. Clearly, every tweet’s not screened. [Laughs] Everything that comes out of my mouth, I take responsibility for. It’s all me, and there are no filters. When it came time to decide, I thought, ‘There are going to be no corporate deals.’ And I was, like, ‘Good. I’m sick of dealing with the B.S. that goes on in these corporate things.’ I’ve only aligned myself with brands I truly believe in — Coors Light, Jim Beam, Harley-Davidson, and Chevy trucks.”
He added, “Even dealing with corporate challenges, I thought, ‘If I never see that again, I could care less.’ There’s no amount of money on this earth that would ever get me to be someone I’m not. I’ve turned down tons of money because I want to be authentic, and I don’t want people to see someone different from who I really am.”
This commitment to authenticity is why it makes sense that Kid Rock speaks openly about his political views. Without a team behind him, there are no opportunities for censoring or monitoring his speech. However, he noted a troubling trend: “The problem these days is that people can’t really accept others’ opinions, which makes it harder for people to openly discuss their political views. To me, it’s really admirable that he does it anyway.”
When Carlson suggested that it might have been “a harder decision” for Kid Rock than he was admitting, the musician responded: “Like I said, I had the money in the bank, so it was… A lot of people don’t want to mess with their bottom line. A lot of people — this goes for anyone — are scared of their social standing. God forbid mom drops off the kids at school wearing a MAGA hat! All of a sudden, you’re this polarizing, divisive person because you said, ‘I want to make America great again.’ I was, like, ‘How dare you?’ [Laughs] People are scared. I’ve been a lot of things, but one thing I’ve never been is scared.”
When asked if being vocal about his conservative views has “cost” him anything, Kid Rock replied, “No. I was prepared to give up a lot, but I don’t care. This tells me it’s the right thing to do. This is what my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ tells me is right, and I’m gonna follow my heart.”
He concluded, “The last full tour I did a few years ago, the only promotion I did was the interview I did with you. That was it. I didn’t do any press, and we sold out every city on that tour. It just goes to show that if you speak your truths — and they have to be your truths, not something you heard or are repeating for status — good things will come.”
