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Trump supporters are using a song by The Chicks to clap back at progressives

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Marissa Moss is not on TikTok, but over the past week, Moss, who is a country music journalist, says friends have been sending her TikToks that use this song.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NOT READY TO MAKE NICE")

THE CHICKS: (Singing) And how in the world can the words that I said send somebody so over the edge that they'd write me a letter saying that I better shut up and sing or my life will be over?

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

The song's called "Not Ready To Make Nice." It's by The Chicks, formerly known as The Dixie Chicks.

MARISSA MOSS: The song is actually being used to soundtrack TikTok videos in support of President Trump in kind of rebellion against Kamala Harris, and it's being used as a conservative rallying cry.

MARTIN: Which Moss says is kind of ironic, since The Chicks wrote this as their protest song after being banned from country radio in the early 2000s. Why? Because they criticized then-President George W. Bush's decision to invade Iraq.

MOSS: They were the subject of death threats. There were, you know, organized parties where people burned their records and rolled over them with tractors.

FADEL: In an interview with NPR in 2020, The Chicks' lead singer, Natalie Maines, remembered that time.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)

NATALIE MAINES: You know, we were not the only people saying things. There was loads of people saying things. I think because we were in country music, we weren't supposed to be liberal, honestly. Apparently, that wasn't allowed.

MARTIN: The Chicks released "Not Ready To Make Nice" in 2006. Moss says the message was clear.

MOSS: They just said, you know what? We're not ready to make nice. We're not apologizing. We're standing our ground, and it was such a pivotal moment for country music - for music in general - for so many reasons, because they were able to make this song about defiance and still be successful.

FADEL: Now, in 2024, women who support Donald Trump, Moss says, are co-opting this song as their protest song against Kamala Harris.

MOSS: They're kind of using this, OK, we're not ready to make nice. We're not going to support a woman just because she's a woman. We're going to support Donald Trump at all costs.

MARTIN: On TikTok, liberals are mocking conservatives for using the song, asking, do you know what these lyrics mean? But TikTokers like Brianna Miller (ph), a Trump supporter, posted a video saying she doesn't care.

(SOUNDBITE OF TIKTOK)

BRIANNA MILLER: You know what I find ironic, is that the same party that's telling me that I'm not allowed to use a song because of what it stands for is the same party that tried to cancel The Dixie Chicks because they had the word Dixie in it. Anyways.

FADEL: Marissa Moss says this battle over who this song is for proves that the stereotype that country is just for conservatives - well, it's just not true.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

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