--- title: Donald Trump: Neil Young Speaks About His Use of Song description: Rocker Neil Young said he didn't approve of Donald Trump using his music at campaign rallies, but he is allowing another candidate. canonical: https://time.com/4051260/neil-young-donald-trump-music/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-27T12:33:29.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:57:39.552Z article:section: Politics og:title: Meet the Candidate Neil Young Is Letting Use His Music og:description: It's not Donald Trump. og:url: https://time.com/4051260/neil-young-donald-trump-music/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9989cfc84994209d/698865a8428a9e8073ccf57b/neil-young.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Neil Young Opening Night Reception For "Special Deluxe" Art Exhibition og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Meet the Candidate Neil Young Is Letting Use His Music twitter:description: It's not Donald Trump. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9989cfc84994209d/698865a8428a9e8073ccf57b/neil-young.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's What Neil Young Thinks About Donald Trump Using His Music > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ## Video: Highlights from Donald Trump's Presidential Announcement [Watch (HLS stream): Highlights from Donald Trump's Presidential Announcement](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/zZCJ6BIH.m3u8) (1:47)  _Published 2015-06-16. Highlights from Donald Trump's announcement to run for president._  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Sep 27, 2015 12:33 PM UTC  Neil Young attends his opening night reception for "Special Deluxe" at Robert Berman Gallery on Nov. 3, 2014 in Santa Monica, Calif. Neil Young attends his opening night reception for "Special Deluxe" at Robert Berman Gallery on Nov. 3, 2014 in Santa Monica, Calif. Chelsea Lauren—Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Sep 27, 2015 12:33 PM UTC Neil Young appeared at a dinner event at the Nantucket Project Saturday night to speak about his music. But as with most interviews these days, there had to be at least one question about Donald Trump. As attendees sipped wine and the aging rocker drank a beer onstage in a tent by the Nantucket waterfront, the interviewer asked the musician what he thought of Trump using his song “Rockin’ In The Free World” on the campaign trail. “Well, it was a surprise,” Young said to laughter from the audience. “Donald Trump is Donald Trump, and I don’t dislike Donald,” he said. “I don’t agree with his policies … But Bernie \[Sanders\] has been using it now. Donald just never asked me, that’s all. If he’d asked me I would have said, you know, I really like Bernie. But he didn’t ask me. It’s OK.” But then Young said that he and the business mogul actually had met before. “I had gone to Donald’s office and asked him to finance my company,” he said. Young is developing Pono, a music download service and player focused on high quality audio. “He wasn’t running for president at the time. And I thought maybe trying to rescue the art form of recorded sound would be a great thing for his legacy … So I thought I had a shot. It didn’t work out. But he was very gracious.” ## Transcript Ladies and gentlemen, I am officially running [ APPLAUSE ] for President of the United States, and we are going to make our country great again. [ APPLAUSE ] When Mexico sends it's people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots of problems and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists, and some I assume are good people. But I speak to Border Guards. And they tell us what we're getting. We need a leader that can bring back our jobs, can bring back our manufacturing, can bring back our military. Can take care of our vets. Our vets have been abandoned. [ APPLAUSE ] And we also need a cheerleader. You know, when President Obama was elected I said, well the one thing I think he'll do well, I think he'll be a great cheerleader For the Country. I think he would be a great spirit. He was vibrant, I really thought that he would be a great cheerleader. I don't anybody's money. It's nice. I don't need anybody's money. I am using my own money. I am not using the lobbyist, I am not using donor's, I don't care. I am really rich. I assure you that. And by the way I am not even saying that, to [ UNKNOWN ]. That is the kind of mindset, that is the kind of thinking you need for this country. 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