Tom Morello delivered a politically charged performance at Boston Calling Music Festival, using his solo set to make a powerful statement against Donald Trump.
Taking the stage on Sunday evening, Morello presented a striking visual backdrop featuring nearly two dozen buttons that read and spelled out “F-ck Trump,” labelled the president a “tyrant,” and referred to him as the “Hater in Chief.”
The former Rage Against the Machine guitarist addressed the crowd with defiance, stating, “Welcome, brothers and sisters, to the last big event before they throw us all in jail.”
Morello used his performance to show solidarity with Bruce Springsteen in the Boss’s recent standoff with Trump. “Bruce is going after Trump because Bruce, his whole life, he’s been about truth, justice, democracy, equality,” Morello told the audience. “And Trump is mad at him because Bruce draws a bigger audience. F-ck that guy.” The guitarist then performed a cover of Springsteen’s “The Ghost of Tom Joad” in support.
The politically outspoken musician also performed Woody Guthrie‘s “This Land Is Your Land”, explaining that he learned the song in third grade only to later discover that essential lyrics had been censored.
“It’s a beautiful song, but they censored out all the verses that explain what the song is really about,” Morello said. “This is a revolutionary anthem. Woody Guthrie knew that music could be… an uplifting, unifying, transcendent thing; a defensive shield, and a weapon for change. Authoritarians and billionaires think this country belongs to them. Woody Guthrie knew that this land is yours.”
Morello’s stance echoes recent comments from Neil Young, who told Trump last week: “Bruce and thousands of musicians think you are ruining America. You worry about that instead of the dyin’ kids in Gaza. That’s your problem. I am not scared of you. Neither are the rest of us.”
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The Harvard graduate also showed support for his alma mater at the festival, which was held at the Harvard Athletic Complex. The university recently sued the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department, and the Department of Justice in response to the Trump administration’s attempt to block the university from enrolling international students. Earlier this month, the Department of Education froze all federal grant funding to Harvard over their refusal to comply with their demands.
During his set, Morello highlighted Harvard’s free online course ‘We the People: Civic Engagement in a Constitutional Democracy’, which he described as “basic U.S. government, understanding the Constitution, and how to recognize a dictatorship takeover of your country.”
