Tom Morello Mocks Video of Kid Rock Performing in Front of Sparse Audience for Turning Point USA
Tom Morello is usually very direct with his feelings on political matters, but after seeing a video of Kid Rock performing for a minuscule crowd on the Turning Point USA stage, the Rage Against the Machine rocker deployed a rare piece of sarcasm.
On Wednesday (Feb. 11), Morello reposted a clip on X of the hip-hop/country star on the set of the conservative organization’s alternative to the Super Bowl’s Bad Bunny-starring halftime show, with TPUSA billing its program as the “All-American Halftime Show.” Kid Rock was one of a few headliners, and in the video, he raps in front of a few dozen audience members. At one point, he signals for them to wave their arms to the beat of the song, but no one complies.
“America is finally great again,” Morello wrote sardonically, putting a spin on President Donald Trump’s signature “Make America Great Again” slogan. “Thank you.”
Billboard has reached out to Kid Rock and Turning Point’s reps for comment.
It’s unclear whether the video circulating on social media was filmed during the actual taping of Turning Point’s show — which also featured performances from Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice and Gabby Barrett — or a rehearsal. One day before Morello’s barbed post, Kid Rock confirmed that the showcase had been pretaped instead of broadcast live, and also shut down rumors he’d lip-synched during his time on stage.
“If I was ever going to lip-synch, which I wouldn’t, [‘Bawitdaba’] would be the last song I would ever … do it to,” he explained in a video posted to his social media, at one point flipping off any “haters and the trolls” watching. “The problem is people amplify this all over the internet … they do it far too often, especially in the fake news media, the left-wingers, crazy libt–ds.”
Beyond trolling Kid Rock on X, Morello made his support for Bad Bunny’s historic halftime performance known by resharing a number of posts uplifting Benito and criticizing Turning Point. One of them spotlighted Zach Bryan’s recent message on Instagram bashing the alternate halftime, in which the country singer wrote, “I don’t care what side you’re on, a bunch of adults throwing temper tantrums and their own halftime show is embarrassing as hell and the most cringe s–t on the planet.”
Morello was also present at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday (Feb. 8), which — as shared on his Instagram — he used as an opportunity to display an “ICE Out” banner in protest of the immigration enforcement operations happening across the United States. In response to ICE officers shooting two civilians in Minneapolis in January, he traveled to the city and hosted a benefit concert to show solidarity for the community.
