In recent months, Neil Young has almost turned criticizing Donald Trump into a full-time pursuit, and that campaign continues this week as the legendary musician and songwriter targets the president in a new open letter published on his official website, a move that has sparked widespread attention across the music industry and political media.
🚨NEW: Legendary musician Neil Young calls out Donald Trump: “I’m not scared of you. Neither are the rest of us…Something has to change this. We know what to do. Rise up!”
— Protect Kamala Harris ✊ (@DisavowTrump20) January 11, 2026
RETWEET if you stand with @NeilYoung against Donald Trump! pic.twitter.com/gs51rGaGze
Titled “It’s ICE Cold Here in America,” the piece was released in the immediate wake of Wednesday’s fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Young refers to the moment as “the biggest mess I’ve ever witnessed” and urges readers to “wake up…the USA is a disaster,” tying the tragedy to broader questions of government accountability, immigration enforcement and civil liberties.
Young places the responsibility squarely on Trump, arguing that the president has damaged the country through his “staff of wannabees, people with no experience or talent, closet alcoholic wife beaters [sic], inexperienced leaders who only know how to lie to keep favor with the Trump falseness…,” a statement that blends political commentary with a broader critique of leadership under U.S. law and constitutional responsibility. The iconic artist goes on to ask how voters ended up choosing “these creeps who have no spine, no values, no conscience, no way to save the USA.”
From there, Young questions how Trump claims he will “Make America Great Again” while allegedly “trying to turn our cities into battlegrounds so he can cancel elections with marshal [sic] law and escape all accountability,” a claim that touches on voting rights, federal authority and constitutional protections.
The letter follows a pattern Young has maintained through both his music and public statements. At times, his opposition shows up through songs and music videos, including the recent “as time explodes” and “Big Crime.” At other points, it appears in direct statements, such as when he invited Trump to attend his 2025 summer tour “if there is not martial law by then,” or when he told the president “I’m not scared of you. Neither are the rest of us.” Last fall, Young also removed his catalog from Amazon, explaining that “[Jeff] Bezos supports this government, it does not support you or me,” a decision that carried implications for digital music licensing, copyright revenue and streaming contracts.
Despite the sharp tone of his criticism, Young closed the brief but forceful letter on a hopeful note, writing: “Rise up. Peacefully in millions. Use your love of life, your love of one another…”
Read Young’s full letter here.
