What did Gene Simmons say about Trump? KISS founders' past comments go viral amid President’s Kennedy center honor

Donald Trump is set to honor Gene Simmons, the bassist and co-lead singer of the renowned hard rock band Kiss, at a ceremony hosted by the president. Gene Simmons, who co-founded Kiss along with Paul Stanley, Peter Criss, and Ace Frehley in 1973, hasn't been the biggest fan of President Trump and his administration. Simmons and Stanley are among those who have been selected to receive this year's Kennedy Center Honors.

While Gene Simmons hasn't made many comments about Trump during his second tenure, he surely had a bunch of things to say about the president during his first term. Trump, whose first tenure as president began on January 20, 2017, ended on January 20, 2021. Simmons, who starred in his reality TV show, Gene Simmons Family Jewels, from 2006 to 2012, remained a dedicated member of Kiss until the band's retirement in 2023. Check out below what Gene Simmons had to say about Donald Trump over the years.

According to Rolling Stone, in March 2016, Gene Simmons predicted Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election in an interview with the outlet. He said:

"He is the truest political animal I’ve ever seen onstage. He has no speechwriters, no editing, no nothing. He’s actually on tape going ‘motherfucker.’ You cannot turn away.… He has said some very vile, unkind things. But don’t kid yourself. He speaks off the cuff, and what you see is what you get. And he’ll double down. If you ask him about building a wall [between the U.S. and Mexico], he’ll say, ‘Fuck you, I’m going to make it 10 feet higher, just because you asked me.’ He’s not there to be your friend…. He’s good for the political system."

In July 2016, while Gene admitted that Donald Trump had been "ungentlemanly", he also called him "a legitimate, upstanding guy" and a "straight shooter".

In September 2017, Simmons informed The Daily Beast that Kiss declined an invitation to perform at Donald Trump's inauguration. He said:

"In this polarizing era, it’s not a good idea."

In that same month, Simmons told Rolling Stone that:

"Whether somebody likes it or not, he’s the duly elected president, and I think you have to respect the presidency."

When Gene was asked if Trump was doing a good job, he said, "Not yet".

In May 2018, Simmons supported some of Donald Trump's policies, which included the shifting of the US Embassy from Israel to Jerusalem. He also supported Trump's plans regarding building a border wall. Gene told CNBC:

"The Vatican has a big wall around it for the same reason. They want to find out who’s coming in there."

In July 2019, while calling Trump "a New York street fighter", Gene Simmons told Good Morning Britain:

"Politics has forever changed. Whether you like it or not, this president has changed it. Earth has never been in better shape.… unemployment in the United States is the lowest it’s been in 50 years."

In January 2021, Simmons took to X (formerly Twitter), hitting back at Trump's election fraud claims on his official X handle. Gene wrote:

"60 courts in various states and 60 Judges (including Pres Trump appointed Judges) UNANIMOUSLY, and without exception, dismissed ALL allegations of a rigged election … and that includes Trump appointed US Attorney General Bill Barr!!!"

In August 2021, Simmons, while putting some of the blame on the Trump Administration for the Coronavirus pandemic, informed Yahoo that he was in favor of the COVID-19 vaccines, and claimed that masks "should be a law". Gene said:

"The gentleman who was in office, the former president, I knew before the political world. It’s the same person I knew before; the stripes of a tiger don’t change. And the unfortunate thing is that, look, we all lie to some extent, but what happened in the last four years was just beyond anything I ever thought imaginable for people who have lots of power — not just him, but the administration, everybody …. all these QAnon people."

In May 2022, Simmons, regarding Donald Trump, told Spin:

"Look what that gentleman [Trump] did to this country and the polarization — got all the cockroaches to rise to the top. Once upon a time, you were embarrassed to be publicly racist and out there with conspiracy theories. Now, it’s all out in the open because he allowed it … I don’t think he’s a Republican or a Democrat. He’s out for himself, any way you can get there. And in the last election, over 70 million people bought it hook, line, and sinker."

Gene Simmons agrees with comedian Bill Maher about Donald Trump

In November 2022, when American comedian and writer Bill Maher said that Trump had no idea how the American government functions, Simmons agreed with it, adding:

"I agree. The person that I saw first coming into power is not the person I saw within a year or two of that.… But I changed, the way lots of people changed."