Neil Young says 'USA is a disaster' as he unleashes attack on Trump in latest editorial

Neil Young criticized President Donald Trump, calling the administration incompetent and warning of rising national instability
PUBLISHED JAN 10, 2026
Neil Young criticized Donald Trump and his administration for causing national instability (Alex Wong/Getty Images, Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Neil Young criticized Donald Trump and his administration for causing national instability (Alex Wong/Getty Images, Kevin Winter/Getty Images)


NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Not everyone supports the current administration under President Donald Trump. Rock legend Neil Young is among those critics. The 80-year-old 'Heart of Gold' singer has spoken out sharply once again.

Young did not hold back in his criticism of Trump or the MAGA movement. He started 2026 by publishing a fiery editorial on his official website, the Neil Young Archives. His message was direct and uncompromising. “Wake up, people!” Young wrote. He added that America was in a 'state of disaster.'

Neil Young of Crazy Horse performs onstage during the 2024 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival at Fair Grounds Race Course on May 04, 2024 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)
Neil Young performed with Crazy Horse at the 2024 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)

Neil Young launches a fiery critique of Trump in a new statement

In a lengthy statement, Neil Young detailed his frustration with Trump and his administration, accusing them of incompetence and moral failure.

"Donald Trump is destroying America bit by bit with his staff of wannabes, people with no experience or talent, closet alcoholic wife beaters, inexperienced leaders who only know how to lie to keep favor with the Trump falseness so they can hold their unearned positions in his inept government, a Congress full of Republicans acting like idiots with no conscience... Yes," Young wrote.

He added, "He has divided us. How did we elect these creeps who have no spine, no values, no conscience, no way to save the USA." Young then criticized the slogan defining the Trump movement, stating, "We need to take Trump at his word. Make America Great Again."

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 09: U.S. President Donald Trump takes questions from members of the media during a meeting with oil and gas executives in the East Room of the White House on January 9, 2026 in Washington, DC. Trump is holding the meeting to discuss plans for investment in Venezuela after ousting its leader Nicolás Maduro. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump met with oil and gas executives in the White House East Room (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Young warned that Trump’s actions were creating instability and threatening democratic processes. "It won't be easy while he is trying to turn our cities into battlegrounds so he can cancel our elections with martial law and escape all accountability," he wrote.

Continuing his critique, Young stressed the human cost of political decisions and urged collective, nonviolent action:

"Something has to change this. We know what to do. Rise up. Peacefully in millions. Too many innocent people are dying. It's ICE cold here in America. There was no ICE before Trump. No soldiers in the streets before Trump. Every move he makes is to build instability so he can stay in power," he wrote.

Young concluded with a call for empathy, unity, and love. "He knows nothing about love. He does not know who you are. Use your love of life, your love of one another, your love of children, yours and theirs and ours. Peacefully. Now."

Neil Young draws on decades of protest as he reacts to fresh political violence

This is not the first time Neil Young has spoken out on political issues. In 1970, after the Ohio National Guard killed four unarmed students during a protest against the Vietnam War at Kent State University, Young wrote and released the iconic song “Ohio” within weeks of the tragedy, according to Esquire. 

Now, following the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, Young’s latest statement reflects his ongoing engagement with political violence and social justice.

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