Is This the Most Honest Celebrity Trump Rant?

Natalie Maines was bashing her president before some of today’s stars could legally vote.

The Dixie Chicks singer went to rhetorical war with President George W. Bush in the 2000s following his decision to invade Iraq.

“Just so you know, we’re on the good side with y’all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas,” Maines said from a London stage.

That made her a media darling. It even helped fuel the group’s 2006 documentary “Shut Up and Sing,” a response to conservative critics who carped singers should entertain, not lecture.

Looking back, her comments were almost quaint. Celebrities regularly say far worse now about Presidents like Donald Trump, Barack Obama and George W. Bush. Just check out Twitter … if you dare.

Times change.

And yet Maines is back in the news for her most recent Twitter Trump rant.

Do you ever feel like you can’t escape the person that brings out the worst in you? @realDonaldTrump you’re mine and I hate you for it.

— Natalie Maines (@1NatalieMaines) April 4, 2017

A few months earlier she was literally singing a different tune.

I didn’t anticipate how entertaining this Presidency would be.It’s quickly becoming my favorite reality TV show.And it’s on every day😀. Yay!

— Natalie Maines (@1NatalieMaines) January 24, 2017

Let’s focus our attention on the first, more recent tweet. Why?

In a way, it’s the most honest statement made by a celebrity regarding Trump so far. If you look at Maines’ other Tweets on the subject, or the plethora of Trump rants coming out of Hollywood, they’re often angry. Mean. Ugly.

They’re the kind of statements you wouldn’t say to anyone’s face, even if you held them in very low regard. And yet that’s what we’ve been hearing from stars for months.

• Amy Schumer: Trump voters are like the KKK.
• Michael Shannon: Trump voters are ready for the urn.
• Madonna: I’ve thought about blowing up the White House.
• Ashley Judd comparing President Trump to the Nazi regime.

Maines nails it, even if she may not fully appreciate why. Trump hasn’t just brought out the very worst in her. It’s done the same for her fellow stars.

President Trump’s flaws are legendary and too long to list here. Anyone awake for the past two years can rattle them off by heart. That means he deserves legitimate criticism on a number of fronts.

And yet too many celebrities have used Trump as an excuse to embrace their ugliest side. That’s not the president’s fault. It’s theirs. Period. They should own it and get off their moral high horses.

Kudos to Maines for stating the obvious.

Photo credit: Disney | ABC Television Group via Foter.com / CC BY-ND