Dropkick Murphys perform at DC veteran rally after lead singer calls Trump a 'coward'
Dropkick Murphys performed at a rally in Washington, DC following the band's criticisms of U.S President Donald Trump .
The Celtic punk band was part of the Unite for Veterans, Unite for America Rally at the National Mall in the United States' capital , which was one of the various scheduled rallies across the country on Friday, June 6. They performed their new single, 'Who'll Stand With Us?' live for the first time.
Dropkick Murphys' lead singer and bassist Ken Casey spoke at a media roundtable on Monday, June 2, about their "obligation" to support those who serve in the U.S. military and how "music ... is a good way to kick the door, the front door, open or put an exclamation point on a point."
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"The veteran community has always been huge supporters of the band and, you know, we've just felt a real connection," he said, per Military.com , "We've always considered ourselves patriotic Americans, and that's part of the reason why we feel ... it's an obligation to speak out and join causes like this."
The event, which coincided with the 81st anniversary of D-Day, was to protest against the proposed cuts to Veterans Affairs services , jobs, and healthcare under the Trump administration. The rally also paid tribute to the "Bonus Army" protests of 1932, where 40,000 World War I veterans came to Washington to demand the deferred bonus payments they were assured.
Since the start of the Trump administration, according to Military.com , the VA fired 1,000 probationary employees amid their mass layoffs across the federal government, and 1,400 more weeks later, reinstated them. Then, in a May hearing, VA Secretary Doug Collins shared plans to decrease the workforce by 15 percent and argued that the reported number of 80,000 jobs being cut by his department was only a "goal" and not a reality.
In response to Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)'s critique of healthcare workers being included in the cuts, he said, "No one has discussed firing doctors and nurses" and that they planned to "keep frontline healthcare."
"We're looking at a goal of how many employees we have and how many employees that are actually working in the front line, taking care. I have doctors and nurses right now that do not see patients. Is that helping veteran health care?" Collins went on to say.
Organizers of the rally have spoken about how these cuts will lead to reduced services and will endanger the livelihood of veterans. Irma Westermoreland, a registered nurse working at a VA hospital and the secretary-treasurer of National Nurses United, said at the rally that the cuts will exacerbate the present issues of short-staffing and other restrictions.
"It’s important for every person to keep their job, from the engineering staff to the housekeeper to the dietary staff," she said, per Military Times ."When cuts are made, the nursing and medical staff will have to pick up all their work that needs to be done."
According to outlet, VA press secretary Peter Kasperowicz said in part in a statement denying the concerns of the rally. "Anyone who says VA is cutting health care and benefits is not being honest."
This all comes as Dropkick Murphys' Ken slammed Trump and his supporters in March. He had taken the opportunity to speak out against Trump and his supporters during shows they've done. He called out a Trump supporter wearing a MAGA hat at their Boston show and called MAGA a "cult." Following that show, he made an appearance on the progressive media company, MeidasTouch, in March, where he doubled down on blasting Trump.
The 56-year-old said Trump was "the exact opposite of everything we sing about" and that "he's turned on his friends, he's turned on his, he's turned on America's friends and our allies."
"He’s a rat and a coward when you think of it that way. America shouldn't be turning on our allies, you know, so that's how we feel," Ken added.
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