Musician and gun rights activist Ted Nugent showered praise on President Trump in a recent interview, calling him “the best president I have ever seen.”
The rock guitarist and longtime board member of the National Rifle Association spoke highly of Mr. Trump throughout Thursday’s episode of the weekly Music Mania Podcast.
“I’ll be 71 glowing, youthful years old this year — 71! Count them. And in my 71 years — I suspect I was paying attention by 1949 — this is the best president I have ever seen,” Mr. Nugent said. “This is a hell-raisin’, we the people, Constitution, Bill of Rights, be the best that you can be.
“I think Donald Trump’s doing a great job,” he said. “He represents the heart and soul of the heart and soul of this country — the heartland of this country: the farmers, the ranchers, the private property owners, the entrepreneurs, working-hard, playing-hard Americans who earn their own way, live within their means, save for a rainy day, take risks and make sacrifices to be in the asset column.”
Speaking ahead of embarking on a coast-to-coast tour this month, Mr. Nugent all but credited the president for his upcoming performances.
“This is going to be the greatest tour of my life and it might have a lot to do with the incredible positive spirit that this president represents that he exudes and that he fights for,” he said.
The “Cat Scratch Fever” musician had a drastically different opinion of Mr. Trump’s predecessor, former President Barack Obama, who he told in 2007 to “suck on my machine gun.” Writing for The Washington Times in 2011, Mr. Nugent said Mr. Obama “couldn’t run a lemonade stand.” He has since promised to stop engaging in “hateful rhetoric.”
Mr. Nugent is scheduled to begin a 32-date tour July 19 in Pasadena, California.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.