Massachusetts has a rich history of giving the middle finger to tyrants and inflated politicians, and the Dropkick Murphys have been providing support for Boston anti-authoritarianism since the 1990s. He is already an outspoken critic of donald trumpleader Ken Casey is calling on punk artists and musicians to “never take shit from a bully” and to “stand up and talk back” to the president and his agenda.
“I never think punk should be uniformly one thing,” Casey says. rolling stone in an exclusive interview. “But the punk I was raised to listen to should speak out against abuses in government.”
“Obviously, something that matters a lot to us is workers’ rights,” he adds. “At every level, Trump will turn his back on working people in favor of the elite and the rich… So, in the name of punk rock, in the name of everyday people, in the name of America as a whole, we feel it is our duty to speak out.”
Casey’s public campaign to mobilize punk artists is launched in partnership with Home of the Brave, a nonprofit founded by former Republicans that focuses on highlighting the negative impact of Trump’s agenda on Americans. Casey will join the organization as a member of its advisory board, beginning her tenure with a set of videos focused on their activism and call to action.
“If we’ve been outspoken even in times that weren’t as drastic as this, why wouldn’t we increase our level of activism as the risks increase?” says Casey in a taped interview published Wednesday by Home of the Brave.
“I just like that it’s a platform to give people a voice, to be able to tell the story of how things have affected them,” Casey says of her work with the organization. “Too many people in America have to rely on social media or news that might have a certain narrative or agenda, and nothing tells the story of what’s happening better than real Americans simply talking about what happened to them.”
Over the past year, Casey and the Dropkick Murphys have become increasingly vocal about their disdain for the president. In July they dedicated their new single. “First class loser” at Trump during his appearance at the Warped Tour in Long Beach, California, and lashed out at the president for his alleged connections to sexual abuser Jeffrey Epstein. In March, they mentioned a fan waving a MAGA hat and telling him to “shut up” for a few minutes while they “played a song about our grandparents and the people who fought against the Nazis.”
“This is America, there are no kings here,” Casey told the man.
Casey says his activism is nothing new, he and the band are “doing what we’ve done for 30 years, playing music for people.”
“I think Donald Trump has done a great job of creating division. I would love to see America move away from him and his hateful rhetoric and find our common ground again… but at the same time, you have to speak truth to power.”
While the president has yet to respond directly to the Dropkick Murphys, other musicians who have criticized the president have found themselves in the crosshairs of his thirst for retaliation. Trump threatened to investigate legendary singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen after he endorsed former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 race. The president also called out Beyoncé be prosecuted about unfounded conspiracies that he was paid to support Harris.
Currently the administration is having a crisis on the selection of Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny to perform at the Superbowl halftime show, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said there will be a strong ICE presence at the event.
“I had never really listened to Bad Bunny’s music, but after his performance Happy Gilmore 2“I’m going to the mat for that guy,” Casey says. “God bless his heart. He is a true American.”
“[The administration] He just wants to control everything, every narrative. “There are much bigger problems in the world than who is at the Super Bowl halftime show,” he adds, noting his appreciation for how the reggaeton artist had handled the backlash to his activism.
“If you don’t get involved now, you could miss the opportunity to get involved later,” Casey says. “Maybe if you keep your mouth shut and just move on and get along, it might not affect you yet, but it will eventually affect you.”
