Cheeky Brits rally behind campaign to have ‘American Idiot’ top music charts in honour of Trump’s visit
‘An idiotic campaign for an idiotic man’
Ahead of Donald Trump’s visit to the United Kingdom this week, some Britons are attempting to “annoy” the US president by launching a campaign to catapult the 2004 hit American Idiot to the top of the UK music charts.
And it appears to be gaining momentum, with the Green Day song popping on and off British charts this week.
In late April, protesters launched the campaign to make the anti-establishment anthem the official No 1 single in the UK by the time Trump arrives on Friday, when he’s set to meet with Prime Minister Theresa May and Queen Elizabeth.
Organisers called on their supporters to download or play the song across an array of platforms on July 6-13 so that it makes “the top spot on that very day he arrives.”
The impetus, said administrators on the campaign’s Facebook page, is that it would be “hilarious and reckon thousands more will find it hilarious too,” adding that it is “an idiotic campaign for an idiotic man.”
The self-described “peaceful protest” came with choice insults for Trump. However, the taunts were not limited to the US leader. They also included criticism of the British prime minister and her government, calling it “the weakest, lamest government in living memory.”
Pro-Trump Facebook users showed a spectrum of distaste for the campaign, and scolded organisers for simply lining the pockets of the record company and the band “who don’t need the money.”
Incidentally, the song and its eponymous album have been adapted for Broadway and Trump tweeted that he loved seeing the musical on its opening night in 2010.
The “American Idiot” campaign faces stiff competition however. The soccer anthem “Three Lions” is currently ensconced at No 1, thanks to the English team’s strong performance at the World Cup in Russia, where they play Croatia in the semi-finals on Wednesday.
