Dem lawmaker sparks social media firestorm with ‘cringe’ anti-Trump guitar performance: ‘Talk about tone-deaf’

Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Georgia, garnered some backlash from conservatives on social for a rendition of “Hey Joe,” which was made popular by Jimi Hendrix and other artists in the ’60s, which he retooled as a criticism of President Donald Trump. 

“I hate to hurt your ears and everything, but I’m just learning to play guitar,” he said in a video posted to X on Wednesday, adding that he was inspired by Black Music Month to provide political commentary through song. 

He noted that he was “just learning to play guitar,” then proceeded to sing an anti-Trump parody of the famous song.

“Hey Trump, where you goin’ with that gun in your hand?” Johnson sang. “I’m goin’ down the street to shoot democracy. You know I wanna be a king someday.”

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As of Friday afternoon, the video had received over 800 comments on the platform, most of which were criticisms from conservatives.

“Talk about Tone-Deaf messaging!” Media Research Center posted on X. “Democrat Rep. Hank Johnson releases hilariously bad anti-Trump song, and you just have to hear this.”

“This would make Jimi Hendrix advocate for a ground war with Iran,” Josh Holmes, co-host of the Ruthless Podcast, posted on X. 

“Democrat Rep. Hank Johnson sings an Anti-Trump song on his guitar about Trump shooting down Democracy with a gun to be a king,” conservative influencer account LibsofTikTok posted on X. “Yes, this is real….”

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Another user simply quipped, “I love the internet.”

“Heyyy Hank, Please tune that dang guitar if you can,” another one wrote, directly pulling from the lyrics of the song. Hendrix most notably played “Hey Joe” at the notorious Woodstock Festival in 1969. 

“Democrats are doing another one of their cringe sing-a-longs,” Ben Petersen, National War Room Director of the National Republican Congressional Committee, posted on X. 

“This horribly sounding performance is yet another waste of our tax dollars and proof of the uselessness of the Democrat Party,” conservative influencer Paul A. Szypula posted on X. 

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“Ok. A few things. If you’re going to do a song like this, it’s best to tune your guitar beforehand,” Jeff Charles, news editor at Townhall, posted on X. “Also, covering Jimi Hendrix when you don’t know how to tune a guitar is cringe AF. The lyrics are something I could have come up with when I was five years old. I’m almost embarassed for him.”

“Hank Johnson – Thinks Guam can capsize… Also Hank Johnson – Thinks he can play guitar,” comedian Tim Young posted on X. “He’s dumber than AOC.

Fox News Digital reached out to Johnson’s office for comment.

The video comes as Democrats continue to experiment with different social media strategies during Trump’s second term and have consistently faced criticism from conservatives for doing so, including earlier this year when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other House Democrats were lambasted online over “choose your fighter” TikTok video.