The Chicks Compare George W. Bush to ‘Deranged Nut Job’ Trump: ‘Now I’d Give George Bush a Big Wet Kiss’
The Chicks marked the 20th anniversary of *Taking the Long Way* with a tour that revisits the album and the backlash that followed Natalie Maines’s 2003 criticism of George W. Bush. At their first New York show, Maines said she would never give in to demands to “shut up and sing”, and joked that she would now give Bush “a big wet kiss” given her view of the current president.
The controversy led country radio stations to drop the group’s songs, drew criticism from fellow artists and pundits, and included death threats from some fans. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and the country albums chart, and won the 2007 Grammy for album of the year and best country album; “Not Ready to Make Nice” won three Grammys. Despite that success, the group did not return to its former chart dominance in country music.
- The Chicks revisited the backlash to their 2003 Bush criticism.
- Their anniversary tour plays *Taking the Long Way* in full.
- The album won the 2007 Grammy for album of the year.
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The Chicks are a country music group whose members include singer Natalie Maines. In 2003, Maines criticised then-president George W. Bush over the Iraq war, prompting a backlash from some country music fans and media figures.
Some radio stations stopped playing the group’s music, and members received death threats. The Chicks later addressed the fallout in their 2006 album Taking the Long Way, which won major Grammy awards. The dispute became an example of how political comments by performers can affect their careers and public standing.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Maines’s remark can be seen as a pointed defence of the right of musicians to express political views without being silenced by audiences, broadcasters or colleagues. The Chicks’ experience of boycotts and threats gives weight to their insistence that public criticism should be answered with debate, not intimidation; her comparison also conveys how sharply her assessment of the current president differs from her past view of Bush.
The case against
Critics may argue that a musician’s political platform can alienate listeners who want the work judged apart from the artist’s politics, and that radio stations and audiences are entitled to make their own choices. They may also see the Bush comparison as a provocative personal jab that oversimplifies differences between presidents, rather than a considered argument about policy.