Keith Richards is not a fan of POTUS, whipped out his ‘trusty blade’ last time his band worked with Trump
Trump’s penchant for driving others to fits of fury dates all the way back to 1989 when Stones guitarist Keith Richards pulled a knife backstage after discovering the polarizing figure in his press room. Richards blasted President Trump in an interview warning Americans to “get rid” of the president–that he’s been shady forever, and recalled the last time he got angry with the now POTUS.
The rock icon told the BBC that back in 1989, Trump was the promoter of the Rolling Stones’ “Steel Wheels” tour dates in Atlantic City. When the band arrived, however, they found Trump’s name in huge letters and the band’s name in much smaller type and that Trump had taken over their press room. Former Stones tour promoter Michael Cohl explained to Pollstar that the band was not eager to be affiliated with Trump in a contractual connection for an arranged Pay-Per-View event at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, which was sponsored and presented by Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino.
Trump took over the band’s press room and held a press conference for himself
“Unfortunately, the only person I could get to kind of agree to the site fee we needed and to work it through was Donald Trump. Now I had one of those, “Oh God, how am I going to do this?” moments,” Cohl recalled. “And I opened my big mouth in the meeting with The Rolling Stones where they go, ‘this is all great, but we’re not going to be affiliated with Donald Trump. At all. Screw you.’ And I go, ‘I will control Donald Trump! Don’t you worry!’”
This was far harder than expected, according to the ‘Steel Wheels’ tour promoter. Despite the stipulations of the Stones’ contract that Trump stay away from the band, Trump took over the band’s after-show press room and decided to hold his own conference. “I get word that I have to come to the press room in the next building. I run to the press room in the next building and what do you think is happening? There’s Donald Trump giving a press conference, in our room!”
“I give him the [come here gesture]. “Come on, Donald, what are you doing? A) You promised us you wouldn’t even be here and, B) you promised you would never do this.” He says, “But they begged me to go up, Michael! They begged me to go up!” I say, “Stop it. Stop it. This could be crazy. Do what you said you would. Don’t make a liar of yourself.”
Upon hearing the news, according to Cohl, Keith Richards “pulls out his knife and slams it on the table and says, ‘What the hell do I have you for? Do I have to go over there and fire him myself? One of us is leaving the building – either him or us.” Trump reportedly cleared out of the room for the band, but made an imposing presence with three men “in trench coats, two of them are putting on gloves and the other one is putting on brass knuckles.” Cohl responded by calling the band’s head of security, who “got 40 of the crew with tire irons and hockey sticks and screwdrivers.”
Trump used the band’s music for his 2016 Campaign without their permission
Jagger also discussed Trump and how the president, when he was a candidate in 2016, used the band’s song “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” without the Rolling Stones’ permission.”He used it on everything. He used it on every rally through the election campaign,” Jagger said. “I wasn’t the DJ, obviously but, it’s a funny song for your play-out song-a drowsy ballad about drugs in Chelsea! It’s kind of weird. He couldn’t be persuaded to use something else.”
In 2015, Richards told Billboard that Trump was able to “cut through a lot of crap.” Not an exactly an endorsement because he went on to say, “Can you imagine President Trump? The worst nightmare,” Richards said. “But we can’t say that. Because it could happen. This is one of the wonders of this country. Who would’ve thought Ronald Reagan could be president?”
Now America has to get rid of him. Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Richards joked.
