43 Artists On Why Donald Trump Is Bad For America

The tail end of the U.S. presidential election has taken a turn so dark no one could have dared predict it — and that's for a cycle in which Donald Trump announced his candidacy by calling Mexicans rapists. Over the past year-and-a-half of his campaign, Trump's racism, Islamophobia, anti-immigrant sentiment, and misogyny have made headlines. Last week, tapes of the Republican presidential nominee bragging about sexual assault were released, followed by a string of women coming forward with stories of having been assaulted or harassed by Trump. As First Lady Michelle Obama said at a recent rally, it's been "a rough week in a particularly rough election." And it's not over yet: before voters head to the polls on November 8, there's a third and final debate between Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton on October 19.

As the election approaches, we can't help but be alarmed by the prospect of a Trump presidency. Some of The FADER's favorite artists are paying close attention, too. In advance of the coming clashes between the candidates at the polls and on our screens, we did some digging and found out what some artists had to say about Donald Trump. Take a look below.

"If I could have a conversation with Donald Trump, that would be an amazing thing, because I don't think he does conversation in the first place. I would try and find out where the rotten root of him starts and try and dig in there and see the human side of that, how he became such a beast that likes to propagate hate and see if I could chip away at some of it. You can't just say 'Oh my absolute ideal perfect candidate isn't running so I'm not gonna go vote at all.' Hillary's your best bet, pretty much. She's not a saint, but she's gonna do a good job, c'mon." — The FADER.

"WHOLLY unqualified man is 'satisfied' with the credentials of a qualified Black man. Who happens to be president. That's White supremacy." — Twitter, September 2016.

"Free hook - Donald Trump - someone took an awful dump, it Was Fucking Donald Trump, rum pum pum pum Donald trump (trumpet solo)." — Twitter, December 2012.

"The world was not made with borders... we built them. We made these constructs and these confines. If you have douchebags like Donald Trump saying you can't come in here or we're going to make it extra hard for you to come here, how do people learn? How do you experience culture? How do you connect with other people?" — CNN, February 2016

The rapper initally endorsed Trump in February, saying “I think Trump is the only one who truly has the balls to bust up big business. Hilary is too tied in with them and Bernie has no clout… In conclusion, I think Donald trump is evil like America is evil and in order for America to keep up with itself it needs him.” However, she retracted her props in September. "i made a major mistake endorsing toupey-toupee. Womens rights are important and we must protect them."

In May, the Canadian rapper cancelled a planned performance with The Weeknd on Jimmy Kimmel Live, because Donald Trump was slated to appear on the show as a guest. He said in a statement to the Associated Press: "For me, being Muslim and being somebody that appreciates my access here in America, I love the fact that I'm able to be here. To play my part in this business is a privilege and a beautiful thing. The fact that I could lose that ability through the actions of someone such as Donald Trump isn't right to me. At all."

"What would I say to Donald Trump? 'Fuck you.' He said he wished all Muslims was banned, you hear what I'm sayin'? I ain't got nothing to say to him. He don't know my life, my story, where i'm from. He could never understand. We could never have a talk. Fuck Donald Trump. I'm not telling people to not vote, I think people should vote. I'm not voting because I'm not a fan of either. I just wish the best for the country, man. Word." — The FADER

"If you somehow forgot why Donald Trump's ideology is so dangerous, just read the replies to a CNN piece where you criticize him." — Twitter, September 2016

“'This is the craziest shit I’ve ever seen in my life,' she says of Trump’s success so far. 'Is this real? But'—cryptically, with a shrug—'it will become a reality, if that’s what the plan is.'” — The FADER, April 2016.

"[Hillary Clinton] is not perfect, and I have been critical and will continue to be when she is elected to hold her accountable for her recent turn left. That said, you CANNOT compare [her with Donald Trump]. She doesn't deserve to have to endure debating with this asshole. She is a woman and is hated for that." Instagram, October 2016

"To boil it down: donald trump hates women, muslims, mexicans and wants to shut down the internet. i miss anything big?" — Twitter, December 2015

Following the November 2015 shootings at the Bataclan in Paris, France, Trump's tweet in response to the Charlie Hebdo attacks in January began to recirculate. Frank Ocean got wind of it, and wrote this response on Tumblr:

"ON THE REAL THOUGH DONALD TRUMP. HOW IS IT ‘INTERESTING’ THAT THESE SHOOTINGS HAPPENED IN A COUNTRY THAT’S TOUGH ON GUNS? TELL US DON? BECAUSE IT SOUNDS LIKE THAT VACUOUS OBSERVATION WAS ABOUT GIVING YOUR NRA-LOVING CONSTITUENCY A HANDJOB AND SPINNING A TRAGEDY FOR POLITICAL GAIN AND I’M THINKING MAYBE USING A SITUATION WHERE DOZENS OF INNOCENTS HAVE JUST BEEN MURDERED IN THE STREETS ISN’T THE BEST TIME. NO?"

"I’m not white, so I wouldn’t be proud of Trump... But I don’t think Donald Trump is going to win. If he wins the presidency, we are f---ed." — Billboard, October 2015

"I ain't fucking with Donald Trump, man. I'm voting for Hillary. He finna build a wall against Mexico. He finna fuck up all type of alliances, motherfuckers be tryna nuke us. I ain't gon' lie, the poor people, for us, it's over for the poor folk. They really just letting people run for president. Next twenty years Imma be president, man. Fuck it. At least Imma make a difference, though, man. Imma break the wall Donald Trump put up. Everybody go vote for Hillary Clinton." — The FADER.

"I feel like he's looking at us as a whole when he really should be separating Muslims. ISIS is like how Bloods is, is like how Crips is. Just because Crips live in a neighbourhood doesn't mean that the whole neighbourhood is going around shooting and gangbanging... I feel like a lot of people are ignorant to learning about the Muslim culture, and what ISIS stand for. They stand for corruption." — XXL, July 2016

After Donald Trump kicked off his campaign by calling Mexicans "rapists," J Balvin announced that he would no longer be performing at the Miss USA pageant, which at the time was owned by Trump (eventually, Spanish language co-hosts Roselyn Sánchez and Cristián de la Fuente dropped out as well, and NBC and Univision ended their business relationships with Trump).

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, he mused on what other people could learn from his experience. "There’s a big lesson. Like, you have to think twice before you say something right. And in this case, when you’re Donald Trump, you have to think 10 times before you say something. [Laughs]."

"We don't need @DonaldTrump representing us as americans. His hatred in his most recent statements shows he's not a legitimate candidate." — Twitter, July 2015.

"Donald trump wig." — Twitter, September 2016

The Baton Rouge rapper seemed entertained by Trump during a June 2016 interview with Real 92.3. “He’ll be mesmerized when I hug him," Gates said of Trump. "The approach should be love and not no ‘F him.’ Cause I like where he get to talking that gangsta shit, he but funny to me and a lot of stuff he don’t know what he be talking about but he be funny. I like him, you heard me?… I’m glad I can’t vote.”

However, Gates more critical earlier in the year in his track "Castle." I just told Donald Trump think about if you came from rubble/ Would you be so quick to judge?/ Or would you be more quick to love?

"lil boy airport swagg in that new #4hunnid 👐🏼👐🏼 #fuckdonaldtrump" — Instagram, October 2016.

In March, Trump's son Donald Jr. tweeted "Ha 5 students when asked why they were protesting couldn't even answer. The participation medal/micro aggression generation is pretty sad!" John Legend ethered him very simply. "I think they were protesting your racist father. This isn't complicated."

"If Donald trump doesnt like immigrants then Donald trump is mean and doesn't care about trees or anyone except ppl that he resembles - Lil B" — Twitter, July 2015.

"Just don't forget about the ridiculously large amount of humans who are down to have Donald Trump be [president]. There is work to do. Just please don't elect this motherfucker man." — Twitter, December 2015.

"Donald Trump has done but nothing but disrespect every person he comes up against except for white, over 60 year old business men. Regardless of your politics, I hope that you would recognize his contempt for humanity, and not allow such a dangerous personality to creep into the White House. Because if he's disrespecting everybody now, when he doesn't have the power, I can only imagine where he would go if he was the president of the United States of America, and America deserves better." — The FADER.

On November 4, the Atlanta producer will host his Young Metro Don't Trust Trump concert in NYC."You can still be cool, and you don't have to be scared to speak up about political issues," he told Complex. "The kids don't really know that."

"There's a tremendous responsibility that we all have just to not be fucking ignorant... it's really sad that even at that level there is this ignorance that exists." — NME, October 2015.

"ok bring it in
we just have to make sure trump doesn't become president,that's the only thing at this point
"Lord help us"on 3
123LORDHELPUS" — Twitter, October 2016.

"Fuck Donald Trump!!!! #MandatoryCheck" — Instagram, July 2016.

"I’m still [pro] Barack Obama, I’m still having my celebration for him. But, you know, we don’t fuck with Trump." — HipHopDx, August 2016.

The rapper also called Trump a "toupée-wearing liar" on Robin Thicke's new single "Deep."

"Aye tell @realDonaldTrump to keep my city name out his fuckin mouth." — Twitter, September 2016.

"SMH at the idea of undoing Obama’s legacy w/ a vote for this BUFFOON. Vote! #ImWithHer." —Twitter, July 2016.

"Why don't you take that wig off, bro? Everybody would trust you then." — FACT, October 2016.

In a 1992 interview, the rapper blasted the capitalism embodied by the author of The Art of the Deal. “If you want to be successful, if you want to be like Trump, gimme, gimme, gimme. Push, push, push, push. Step, step, step. Crush, crush, crush. That’s how it all is. It's like nobody ever stops.”

"Nigga how you gon' have your wife get at Michelle Obama, nigga? Fuck you, nigga. Now I'm on a mission, too nigga... We ain't voting for your punk ass. Go get you a new hairdo, bitch ass nigga."— Instagram, July 2016.

"I ain't going for it... Mr Trump, if u beat me u won...but I WILL NOT BE FOOLED!!! I know u got plans for my people that are contrary to OUR BEST INTERESTS. Make no mistake... WE AINT ON THE SAME SIDE." — Instagram, March 2016.

In April, Tyler the Creator shared an image of a new shirt from his Golf Wang fashion line. The merch depicted Trump with a Hitler moustache, and featured text that read “President Of The United States Donald J. Trump. 2016-2020. We Fucked Up.”

"He's a racist, clearly. The shit he said about Mexicans and building a wall, I've grown up with Mexicans in my neighbourhood. It's crazy. One of my managers is Mexican, my daughter's friends are Mexican, c'mon man. I wanna everybody to get out there and vote. For Clinton." — The FADER.

"#DontTrumpAmerica" — Instagram, June 2016.

“[Trump]’s a complete fucking nightmare and a joke... I think there's a lot of inmates in private prisons in Louisiana that would probably feel much differently about the outcome of the election. There's a lot of kids that will not have access to healthcare and to education, there's like millions and millions and millions of people whose lives will, the practical day to day of their lives will be extremely shaped...” Red Bull Music Academy, October 2016.

“I don’t know what the fuck they thinking…letting him be president." — Clique, September 2015.

"We have to stop vicious & violent hate b4 its too late." — Twitter, June 2016.

"Trump out here, he supposed to be representing us, the United States, and we ain't feeling him. 'Cause he really not representing us. He not for my people. He one of them candidates pushing for certain shits and they with certain shits so you really gotta go do your homework, really see what they talking about before you vote. But you gotta vote." — The FADER.

"Michael Jordan and Donald Trump are the same kind of person. They are the epitome of bad people in America becoming successful." — GQ, November 2015.