Neil Young Slams Trump in Fiery Op-Ed After Minnesota ICE Shooting, Urges Americans to “Rise Up”

Neil Young has sharply criticized Donald Trump in a new editorial calling on Americans to peacefully protest following the fatal shooting of a Minnesota woman by an ICE agent.

In a post published on his website titled It’s ICE Cold Here in America, the veteran musician blamed the current administration for growing unrest across the United States. Young described the country as being in crisis, accusing Trump of leading what he called an “inept government” lacking conscience and integrity.

“Wake up, people!” Young wrote, saying the United States is “a disaster” and accusing Trump of surrounding himself with unqualified and dishonest officials. He argued that the president has divided the nation and questioned how Americans elected leaders he described as having “no values” and “no conscience.”

Young also accused Trump of intentionally creating instability to hold onto power. Referencing the former president’s long-running slogan, he wrote that making America great again would be impossible, claiming Trump is attempting to turn cities into “battlegrounds” in order to undermine elections and avoid accountability.

“We need to take Trump at his word,” Young wrote. “Make America Great Again. It won’t be easy while he is trying to turn our cities into battlegrounds.”

The editorial comes days after the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good, who was killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent during a large-scale enforcement operation in Minneapolis. Her death sparked protests nationwide.

Good, a prize-winning poet, was married and had three children. She had volunteered with neighborhood patrol groups that monitored ICE activity in Minneapolis. According to reports, she was shot while sitting in her car by a federal agent.

Reacting to the incident, Young wrote that the United States has become colder and more militarized under Trump’s leadership. He claimed there was no ICE presence and no soldiers in the streets before Trump took office, accusing him of deliberately fostering fear and chaos.

“He knows nothing about love,” Young wrote of Trump. He urged Americans to respond not with violence, but with mass peaceful protest.

“Something has to change this,” Young wrote. “We know what to do. Rise up. Peacefully in millions. Too many innocent people are dying.”

The post adds to a long history of outspoken political commentary from Young, who has frequently criticized Trump and previous administrations over issues of democracy, immigration, and civil rights.