John Mellencamp Has Been Outspoken About His Politics Throughout His Career

While plenty of musicians tend to steer away from offering their opinions about politics, John Mellencamp has never been one of them. The singer and songwriter has always been unabashed about offering his political opinions, even as he understands that may alienate some people in his audience.

If you're wondering exactly what John's views are on President Trump and our two major parties, you're not alone. Here's what we know about John Mellencamp's politics.

John Mellencamp is an openly liberal singer and has supported Democrats for most of his professional life. He has previously barred multiple Republican candidates from using his music in ads and at rallies, and he also went after Congress hard after they failed to take action to deal with the gun violence problem in America.

“Only in America, and I mean only, in America, can 21 people be murdered and a week later be buried and forgotten, with a flimsy little thumbnail, a vague notion of some sort of gun control law laying on the senators’ desks,” John wrote in the wake of the Uvalde shooting in Texas. “What kind of people are we who claim that we care about pro-life?"

"Just so you know, anyone that’s reading this … politicians don’t give a f--k about you, they don’t give a f--k about me, and they don’t give a f--k about our children. So, with that cheery thought in mind, have a happy summer, because it will be just a short time before it happens again," he continued.

It seems, then, that John has a good deal of disdain for politicians of all kinds, but has saved his most fiery rhetoric for those politicians who identify as conservatives.

Although he identifies as liberal and was raised by Democrats, John has also made it clear that he doesn't love politicians more generally.

“If you wanna get into government, I can get into it with you real quick,” Mellencamp told CBS. “You probably don’t wanna have this conversation with me, but here’s the deal: I don’t trust the government. I don’t trust the Democrats. I don’t trust the Republicans. I’m a little bit more Democratic than I am Republican, but really I’m a socialist."

Ultimately, then, it seems that, like many Americans, John is not totally satisfied with either party he can choose to represent him. Of course, many on the right likely wouldn't be thrilled to hear that John is a socialist either, but John has been outspoken about politics throughout his career, even as he understands that it can come at the expense of love from his fans.

Given that John writes music about the American heartland, many might have naturally assumed that his small-town politics would have led him to be more conservative. Instead, he seems to have moved in the opposite direction, slowly growing more and more upset by the hollowing out of those small towns.