Joe Walsh Pulls Out of Republican National Convention Concert, Says He Was Misled
Joe Walsh once ran a tongue-in-cheek campaign for the presidency, but that doesn't mean he wants to be associated with this year's race.
The Eagles star pulled out of a concert scheduled for July 17 in Cleveland, after he says he was misled about its mission.
"It was my understanding that I was playing a concert which was a non-partisan event to benefit the families of American veterans," Walsh says, via Facebook. "Today it was announced that this event is, in fact, a launch for the Republican National Convention. In addition, my name is to be used to raise sponsorship dollars for convention-related purposes. Therefore, I must humbly withdraw my participation in this event with apologies to any fans or veterans and their families that I might disappoint."
Aside from apparently feeling misled, Walsh said he is also upset with the tone of this year's campaign – specifically citing "the rampant vitriol, fear-mongering and bullying coming from the current Republican campaigns. It is both isolationist and spiteful," he added. "I cannot in good conscience endorse the Republican party in any way."
Walsh now joins Cheap Trick in refusing to play for the GOP. "The Republican National Committee called our office and offered us $100,000 to play at their convention in Cleveland," Robin Zander told The Guardian, before making a joke at the party's expense. "We turned it down," Zander said. "Then we had second thoughts. Maybe we should have accepted it – but we would all have got swastika guitars made."
Walsh – who ran for president in 1980, not long after the Eagles initially broke up – pledged to schedule a concert for veterans later this year. He also reportedly threw his hat in the ring for a vice presidential nod in 1992, and briefly mulled over a campaign for Congress in 2012.
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