Seventeen American sailors died on October 12, 2000, when al-Qaeda suicide bombers blew a 40-foot hole in the USS Cole while it sat in a Yemen harbor.
Kid Rock's music was playing on that ship.
Now – 25 years later – Gavin Newsom and a mob of Democrats are attacking him for riding in a military helicopter, and Kid Rock just fired back.
What the Critics Are Hiding
Newsom went on social media demanding to know why taxpayers were "flying Kid Rock around on $100 million helicopters."
Democrat Rep. Jason Crow called it a taxpayer-funded "joy ride."
Rolling Stone called Kid Rock a "geriatric pop-country star" running a "jingoism-laced publicity tour."
Every single one of them left out the same thing.
https://twitter.com/WillCainShow/status/2054976980727058708?s=20
After those 17 sailors died in Yemen, Kid Rock organized a benefit concert in Virginia and gave every dollar to the victims' families.
That was 2000.
In 2003, he flew to Baghdad and performed at the first USO show at Baghdad airport for nearly 7,000 troops – at a time when most celebrities wouldn't go anywhere near a war zone.
By 2009, he was on his fifth overseas troop tour, performing at Forward Operating Base Warrior in Kirkuk, Iraq, on a two-week swing through Europe and Southwest Asia.
He also drew more than 35,000 troops to Fort Jackson for a free concert – open to anyone with a military ID.
He went to Afghanistan with the USO.
He challenged his fans to send care packages to deployed troops and shipped over 500 packages in a single month.
He won the military's Patriot Award alongside Gary Sinise and Charlie Daniels.
Newsom hasn't done any of it.
The Real Purpose of the Helicopter
The left framed the Apache helicopter ride as a celebrity joyride.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said something different.
https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2052509833199263874?s=20
Kid Rock participated in "multiple troop touches with service members" and filmed videos for Memorial Day, America's 250th birthday, and his Freedom 250 tour.
Secretary Hegseth called Rock a "patriot and huge supporter of our troops" and personally lifted the suspension of pilots who flew over Rock's Nashville estate in March – sending a message to every service member in the country: supporting your civilian friends is not a punishable offense.
"The Department is grateful for Kid Rock's long-time support of our troops," Pentagon spokesman Parnell added.
That is the official position of the United States military.
Newsom's position is that it was a waste of money.
Pick your side.
250 Free Tickets Per Show
While the outrage machine ran, Kid Rock announced something that received almost no coverage from the same outlets publishing the attack pieces.
https://twitter.com/WillCainShow/status/2054864296773927086?s=20
His Freedom 250 tour will give away 250 free tickets per show to veterans and their families.
Not to donors. Not to influencers. Not to celebrities.
To veterans.
The media covered the helicopter for two weeks and spent approximately zero minutes on the veterans' tickets.
What They Can't Stand
The Trump administration – through Pete Hegseth – used Kid Rock to show the country what American military power looks like, and it worked.
Apache helicopter footage. Troops cheering. A rock star who's been doing this quietly for 25 years getting the recognition he earned.
https://twitter.com/_Postive_Vibes/status/2054937416755294545?s=20
Newsom looked at that image and calculated it was worth attacking.
He was wrong.
Kid Rock has been in Iraq while Newsom was holding fundraisers.
He has been in Afghanistan while Newsom was signing executive orders.
The left attacks it because it works, and when conservatives win the culture war, the media calls it a scandal.
When Will Cain asked him about weeks of attacks from politicians and press, Kid Rock summarized every critic in two words.
"Just noise."
He's right.
Sources:
- Madison Colombo, "Kid Rock fires back at media trolls over helicopter ride, warning his military mission is far from over," Fox News, May 14, 2026.
- "Kid Rock jams during 'Tour for the Troops' concert," United States Army, December 2009.
- "Kid Rock rocks Baghdad, 2003," Stars and Stripes, December 2024.
- "Kid Rock Honored With 'Patriot Award' For His Support of U.S. Military," KidRock.com.
- Sean Parnell, Pentagon statement, as reported by Fox News Digital, April 2026.
- "Kid Rock, Hegseth divide fans after critics question patriotic helicopter ride," Fox News, April 2026.
