Green Day fans launch campaign to get 'American Idiot' to No.1 for Donald Trump’s UK visit
He's visiting in July
Green Day fans have launched a campaign to get their 2004 anthem 'American Idiot' to number one to coincide with President Donald Trump’s visit this summer.
Yesterday, it was announced that Trump will be making his inaugural official trip to these shores as President on Friday 13th July when he will meet politicians and also the Queen.
Immediately after the news was announced, a Facebook group called ‘Get American Idiot to No.1 for Trump’s State Visit’ launched their campaign. The page was set up in 2017 soon after Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States.
Despite the Facebook page’s name, the July trip is only being billed as a "flying 24-hour visit" rather than an official state one.
Writing to their 8,000 group members yesterday, the admin of the American Idiot campaign wrote: “We have a date, he's coming Friday 13th July... so if we ALL buy enough downloads of Green Day's 'American Idiot' between Friday 6th-Thursday 12th it will time PERFECTLY to hit No.1 the very day he arrives on UK soil! Streaming counts too but less effective. Let's do this!”
‘American Idiot’ entered the UK singles chart at No.3 back in September 2004 and sold over 400,000 copies.
Green Day, of course, have spoken out against Donald Trump numerous times over the past few years and famously instigated a 'No Trump! No KKK! No fascist USA!' chant at the American Music Awards in November 2016.
Speaking to Kerrang! Radio the day after Trump was elected, Billie Joe Armstrong said: “A lot of people are really freaked out and angry and confused. The vote was obviously kind of a protest vote for the people that actually voted him into office too because the establishment politics are so corrupt right now.
“But it’s hard because they voted in a dictator – someone that’s literally the first true fascist that America’s ever voted into office.”
Reflecting upon Trump’s proposed wall between the US and Mexico, Billie Joe added: “It’s basically like an introduction into some form of grotesque ethnic cleansing. The Republican Party is now officially a white nationalist party – no doubt about it, you can’t whitewash that. It’s very scary times.”
Last November’s ‘Back In The USA’ video features a Donald Trump-esque President depicted as a zombie-like horror figure