Dee Snider Explains Why He Let Donald Trump Use ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’
This summer, eyebrows were raised when Dee Snider allowed Donald Trump to use Twisted Sister's anthem, "We're Not Gonna Take It" on the campaign trail. In a new interview, the frontman explained his reasons for giving his former Celebrity Apprentice boss permission.
"He called and he asked, which I appreciated," he told Canadian Business. "I said, ‘Look, we don’t see eye to eye on everything. There are definitely issues that we’re far apart on.’ But thinking back to when I wrote the song and what the song is about, it’s about rebellion, speaking your mind and fighting the system. If anybody’s doing that, he sure is. Trump and Bernie Sanders are the two extremes. They’re raising holy hell and shaking everything up. That’s what ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ is about."
Snider considers a Trump a friend and noted that what you see on television is not the same man in a private, social setting. "I have spent time with Donald and his family," he continued. "I don’t think either of us expected that we would like each other, but you know, Donald Trump is a pretty chill guy. He’s a frontman. When that camera goes on, he furls his brow, he does his thing. Off-camera he’s very self-deprecating. He makes jokes about being too orange and about his hair."
And there's one aspect of Trump's business practices that Snider picked up on: "Take credit for everything and put your name on it. It’s Dee Snider’s Rock & Roll Christmas Tale, The House of Hair with Dee Snider, Dee Snider’s Strangeland."
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