Sir Rod Stewart is firing back at Donald Trump.
On Friday (Jan. 23), the 81-year-old rock legend criticized the president in a video shared on social media after Trump suggested that NATO troops avoided the front lines during the war in Afghanistan.
“I may just be a humble rock star, I’m also a Knight of the realm and I have my opinions,” Stewart said in the Instagram clip. “I was born just after the war (World War II) and I have great respect for our armed forces that fought and gave us our freedom. So it hurts me badly, deeply, when I read that the draft dodger Trump has criticized our troops in Afghanistan for not being on the front line.”
Stewart went on to highlight the sacrifices made by U.K. service members, noting that more than 400 British personnel served during the prolonged conflict in Afghanistan.
“Think of their parents. Think about it,” the singer-songwriter continued. “And Trump calls ’em almost like cowards. It’s unbearable. So I’m calling on you, Prime Minister [Keir] Starmer and [Reform UK leader Nigel] Farage. Please, make the draft dodger Trump apologize, please.”
Stewart, who was knighted in 2016, ended the clip by saluting the camera and walking off. Throughout the brief video, various words and phrases flashed across the screen, including “We shall never forget,” “So disrespectful,” “Honor them,” “Disgraceful” and “Take a stand.”
The “Maggie May” singer’s remarks were in response to an interview Trump gave to Fox News earlier in the week from Davos, Switzerland, in which the president suggested that soldiers from other NATO countries stayed away from frontline combat during the Afghanistan war.
“We’ve never needed them, we have never really asked anything of them,” Trump said. “You know, they’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan, or this or that, and they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines.”
In June 2025, Stewart also reflected on his past relationship with Trump, with whom he was once friendly.
“I live literally half a mile away,” he told Radio Times, referring to his residence in Palm Beach, Florida. “We’re both on the beach. I used to go to his Christmas parties. He’s always been a bit of a man’s man. I liked him for that. But he didn’t, as far as I’m concerned, treat women very well.”
Stewart believes that Trump’s time in office changed him. “Since he became president, he became another guy,” the musician said. “Somebody I didn’t know.”
Now, Stewart says he no longer considers Trump a friend, citing one policy issue in particular as unforgivable. “No, I can’t anymore,” he said. “As long as he’s selling arms to the Israelis — and he still is. How’s that war ever gonna stop?”
Watch Stewart’s latest message to Trump on Instagram below.
