In news that might come as welcome for anyone with ears, Kid Rock has revealed that he will leave the United States if Donald Trump loses the presidential election.
The musician, who has spent months campaigning for the Republican candidate, made the declaration during a recent interview, threatening (but also hopefully promising) to “leave this country” if the former president is not re-elected. “If Donald Trump doesn’t win, I’m out,” the singer said. “I’ll pack my bags and leave this country.”
It marks Kid Rock’s latest show of support for Trump, whom he has supported since his first presidential run back in 2016. Since then, the musician has appeared alongside the former president at a UFC match, headlined a campaign fundraiser in Tennessee (Taylor Swift must have been busy), and taken to the stage at the Republican National Convention. With so many campaign credits under his belt, Kid Rock’s departure from the U.S. might have as much to do with embarrassment as it does with Trump’s actual policies.
Setting aside the hypocrisy of the fact that leaving the country will make Kid Rock one of those immigrants that his candidate can’t stop whining about (perhaps there’s pets on his international menu), people had some pretty savage responses to Kid Rock’s promise. Political commentator and co-founder of The Lincoln Project, Rick Wilson, offered a masterclass in sarcasm while reacting to the pull-quote on X.
“Oh no,” Wilson wrote in response to Kid Rock’s potential U.S. departure, before urging followers to “please vote” for Trump’s opponent, Kamala Harris. Sharing a similar sentiment, many users agreed that the musician leaving the country is not as much of a loss as he thinks it is, with one quipping that it is actually “yet another benefit to Kamala winning.” Others wrote that they wished they could vote for Harris again to ensure Kid Rock’s threat becomes a reality, and hoped that the country he plans to move to “denies his VISA.”
“Bye bye Kid Rock,” another user said, perhaps preemptively, “take your leader with you.” Others had even broader ideas of what Kid Rock’s departure could mean for his Trump-loving peers, declaring that they would “gladly pay extra taxes” to fund the “exodus” of fellow Trump supporters. One person even suggested that the former president’s billionaire bestie could be involved in this exodus, saying Elon Musk should have “offered them all space on starship to Mars by now.”
Musk already seems like he’s from Mars, since his questionable involvement in the election has felt out of this world (sorry, I had to). It’s not the first time a celebrity has vowed to leave the country in the event that their candidate loses, though usually these promises have come from the other side of the political aisle.
In 2016, Lena Dunham, Amy Schumer, Miley Cyrus, Snoop Dogg and Whoopi Goldberg were among those to make travel plans in the event that Trump won that year’s election. They all remained in the country, which in the case of Cyrus and Snoop Dogg, was a big relief for the music industry. I’m not sure the same can be said for Kid Rock, whose departure might actually clear up the airwaves and make room for even more of Swift, who you just know will be hate-listened to by Trump. Hopefully not from the White House sound system.