The Daily Beast’s Asawin Suebsaeng showed an inordinate amount of favor for his fellow liberals in the aging 80’s rock band R.E.M. when they told Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz to “Go F**k Themselves.”
In fact, Suebsaeng’s first line in his not so objective article is “Memo to Donald Trump and Ted Cruz: Don’t f**k around with R.E.M.’s songs at your rallies.”
So, why all the hubbub? Trump took the stage at a “Stop the Iran Deal” rally that took place in DC Wednesday to R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine).” The guy certainly has a knack for ticking off liberal musicians. Neil Young was the first lefty that took offense to his music being “appropriated” by Trump. You’d almost think that Trump is doing on purpose at this point.
Bassist Mike Mills responded to tweets pressing for his reaction to “The Donald’s” use of the 1987 song with a simple “Cease and desist.” But, of course, that wasn’t the end of it.
@DavidCornDC Cease and desist.
— Mike Mills (@m_millsey) September 9, 2015
In a separate tweet, Mills said that he thinks “the Orange Clown will do anything for attention.” It’s more than likely that “Orange Clown” refers to Trump. Name-calling is a favored tactic used by liberal celebrities. Though, to be fair, Trump isn’t afraid to sling that brand of mud either.
Personally, I think the Orange Clown will do anything for attention. I hate giving it to him.
— Mike Mills (@m_millsey) September 9, 2015
Mills said that he hates giving Trump that attention, yet he makes no attempt to quell the waves of outrage, a delicacy to the Trump-hungry media. He can’t claim to hate giving Trump attention when he feeds the beast by retweeting people making jokes at Trump’s expense.
R.E.M. vocalist Michael Stipe wasn’t as polite as Mills. He cursed into the wind at an unspecified swath of people that he labeled “sad, attention grabbing, power-hungry little men.” (Never mind he's about half a foot shorter than Trump.) Mills tweeted that out on Stipe's behalf.
"Go fuck yourselves, the lot of you--you sad, attention grabbing, power-hungry little men. Do not use our music or my voice for your 1)
— Mike Mills (@m_millsey) September 9, 2015
...moronic charade of a campaign."--Michael Stipe
— Mike Mills (@m_millsey) September 9, 2015
Stipe demands, with an implied stomp of feet, that these “little men” not “use [their] music or [his] voice for [Trump’s] moronic charade of a campaign.” The petulance is strong with this one.
R.E.M. also posted a more mature response on their Facebook page where they asked their music be removed from “this political event.” They also ask the American voters to focus on the “bigger picture” instead of being distracted from “pressing issues.”
Wouldn’t you say that the damage has already been done? You can’t vent to the public and bring attention to yourself with profanity-laced Twitter tirades and then tell people who feed off of those feelings to focus on the “issues.” Then again, logic has never really been a liberal celebrity’s strong suit.
"While we do not authorize or condone the use of our music at this political event, and do ask that these candidates...
Posted by R.E.M. on Wednesday, September 9, 2015
