Ted Nugent has praised Yungblud and Jack White while hitting out at Green Day and his “good friend” Tom Morello over their politics.
The US guitarist, songwriter and activist is a high-profile supporter of President Donald Trump, and known for his right-wing political views and pro-gun stance.
On New Year’s Day (Thursday January 1), Nugent uploaded a video titled ‘Let’s Talk Music’ on his official YouTube channel. Here, the musician shared his thoughts on White’s halftime performance at the Detroit Lions game on Thanksgiving Day – where he brought out Eminem.
Nugent – who, like White and Eminem, is from Detroit, Michigan – praised the former White Stripes frontman’s “great” set at the event. “He’s not a 10. He’s like a four [or] a five, but he really delivered real rock ‘n’ roll,” he told viewers (via Consequence).
However, Nugent went on to criticise White’s politics. He called both him and Eminem “total idiots”, continuing: “They don’t want their country to have secure borders. They think men should destroy women’s sports. Well, that’s not… that’s exactly what they stand for.”
He explained: “When you hate Donald Trump, you want men in women’s sports to destroy women’s rights. That’s what these guys stand for. They don’t think our border should be secure. They think we should invite jihadists in who announce they want to kill the infidels. They announce they want to kill Americans. And Jack White and Eminem say, ‘Yeah, bring them in. Bring those guys in’. Freak idiots.”
Nugent added: “But their music is soulful.”
Eminem has spoken out numerous times about Trump, saying in 2018 that a “fucking turd” would be a better President, and previously claiming that he had “brainwashed” his supporters.
This summer, White slammed the POTUS’ “vulgar, gaudy” White House redesign. The White House Communications Director, Steven Cheung, fired back, calling White a “washed-up, has-been loser”. The guitarist and vocalist had launched a scathing attack on Trump upon his return to office in late 2024, labelling him a “wannabe dictator”. He wrote: “It’s absolutely dumbfounding that this con man succeeded in pulling the wool over so many Americans’ eyes not once, but twice.”
Elsewhere in his recent video, Nugent similarly complimented Green Day and former Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello as musicians – but shared criticism of their politics, too.
“Green Day – there’s not a brain amongst them, I don’t think. But man, can they play. Really, really killer stuff, like Tom Morello,” he said. “Come on, Tom – you’re not raging against the machine, you are the machine.
“They don’t believe that America should have secure borders, which means they don’t believe in America. They wanna have a great, successful life in America, but they don’t think you should be able to have one.”
Nugent called on Morello to be a guest on his show to “make [his] case”, adding: “Good luck.” The ex-RATM member defended his friendship with Nugent in 2021, telling NME: “I reserve the right to confront opinions I disagree with, with open-heartedness and love, or by throwing a brick. That’s up to me.
“In the case of Ted, I know he’s become this right-wing caricature but there have been several times where I have reached him on issues that you might be surprised about. But he is still crazy uncle Ted who says all sorts of shit.”
Nugent also turned his attention to Yungblud in his video, telling fans: “This guy’s the real McCoy. Watch this Yungblud that’s working with Steven Tyler and Joe Perry. It gives you hope that the really piss and vinegar, the James Brown, the original Chuck Berry, Little Richard is alive and well, and this kid called Yungblud.”
In 2024, Nugent and his son Rocco shared a song about the attempted Trump assassination, ‘Who Shot Trump’. The previous year, he called out the “liars and haters” for the cancellation of his gig in Alabama due to backlash regarding his political views.
Last autumn, Green Day took another jab at Trump while performing in the US. They previously led chants of “Fuck Donald Trump” on Independence Day 2025, after speaking out against the POTUS at last year’s Download Festival.
During the latter set, frontman Billie Joe Armstrong said: “Ladies and gentlemen, we are slipping into fascism… it’s up to us to fight back!”
In other news, Yungblud has teamed up with The Smashing Pumpkins for a rocked-up rendition of his song ‘Zombie’.
