Natalie Maines, lead singer of The Chicks, has launched a harsh verbal attack on Donald Trump, referring to the president as a “fugly sl-t.” The 51-year-old country artist expressed her criticism of the Commander-in-Chief, expressing concern that “our democracy is disappearing right before our eyes,” according to RadarOnline.com.
Maines’s remarks come 23 years after she publicly declared that her band, then known as The Dixie Chicks, was embarrassed by President George W. Bush’s 2003 decision to invade Iraq. That political statement resulted in the group—comprising Maines, Emily Strayer, and Martie Maguire—being banned from numerous country music radio stations and receiving numerous death threats.
The recent tirade was accompanied by an official portrait of Trump, 79, showing him with a stern expression and one eyebrow raised, standing before an American flag.
In her post, Maines stated: “Our democracy is disappearing right before our eyes.” She continued with a pointed accusation: “This fugly sl-t is using your gas money to pay the insurrectionists,” alluding to Trump’s military actions in Iran, which she claims have led to rising gas prices, and a contentious agreement with the IRS to establish a nearly $1.8 billion fund that has faced severe criticism from Democrats and ethics watchdogs.
Maines sarcastically added: “But don’t worry about it. I’m sure posting selfies will fix everything.” She further mentioned that her previous post calling Trump a “fugly sl-t” was removed, questioning how long her current post would last.
Maines urged her audience to share her message to “help the message live.” She referenced Representative Jamie Raskin’s assertion to Axios in February that a search for “Trump” in a database of unredacted files related to Jeffrey Epstein resulted in over one million hits. Raskin later clarified that he searched for “Trump,” “Donald,” and “Don,” noting that not all results pertained to Trump. Maines included hashtags such as “democracy,” “freespeech,” and “fugly sl-t” in her post.
Her anger appears to have been fueled by news of Trump, his sons Don Jr. and Eric, and the Trump Organization filing a lawsuit against the Treasury and IRS in the Southern District of Florida over a leak of their tax returns.
In a settlement to drop the lawsuit, the IRS agreed to establish a $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” intended to issue apologies and provide financial relief to claimants. This fund will be managed by a five-member commission appointed by the Attorney General, who is chosen by Trump. The president will also have the authority to remove members of the commission.
Although Trump is technically barred from directly benefiting from the fund, entities connected to him are not explicitly prohibited from submitting additional claims.
The settlement has incited strong backlash from Democrats, including Senate Finance Committee member Ron Wyden, who called it a blatant act of corruption. Wyden stated: “Even by his standards, the move he’s trying to get away with now is a stunning act of corruption. What Trump wants is a $1.7 billion slush fund for right-wing political violence and subversion, and if he follows through, it will be the most brazen theft and abuse of taxpayer dollars by any president in American history.”
