It’s back. The political pot is stirred again, and this time the spoon is being wielded by Natalie Maines.
On Instagram. Monday.
She didn’t mince words.
“Our democracy is disappearing right before our eyes,” Maines wrote. Then she got personal. Called the President a “fugly slut.” Twice, really, once in the quote and once to drive the point home about the last post they scrubbed.
“This fugly slut is using YOUR gas money to pay insurrectionists”
That’s the gist of it.
She claims the administration is using taxpayer money. Specifically, money meant to combat weaponization of the Department of Justice. Eighteen billion dollars of it allegedly going toward compensating people convicted of attacking the Capitol on Jan 6, 2022? Or 2021? It was January 2021 when the siege happened. Now it’s 2024 and she thinks they’re cutting checks for the rioters.
The post was accompanied by images of the siege. Chaos. Smoke. The Capitol in ruins of dignity.
Her caption added a layer of self-aware irony about her own reach. “I’m sure posting selfies will fix everything,” she mocked the culture before pivoting to call for reposts. The previous version of this post was taken down. Naturally. We will see how long this one sticks around.
It wasn’t her first time using this specific account for such vitriol.
For years it had been quiet. Dust settled. Then poof, she returned to the public square. Her last substantial rant on this handle? Jan 6, 201.
“This mentally diseased baby man racist… He needs to go.”
Simple language. Angry syntax.
She has a history of burning bridges with Republican presidents.
In 2003. London.
She criticized George W Bush mid-concert. Said something about not knowing how he could do anything for America without a heart.
The backlash was instant. Radio stations went silent. Blackouts everywhere. The charts ignored them. The industry tried to erase them. It was the pre-social media version of cancelation, but sharper because you couldn’t just unfollow a radio dial.
The band, once the Dixie Chicks? Thirteen Grammy Awards later?
They dropped “Dixie” in 2020. A rebranding. An attempt to step away from the Confederate weight of the name. But Maines never softened her politics. Just changed her address.
Trump isn’t unique. Just louder. Just more immediate.
Is this helpful?
Probably not in a practical sense. But it’s there. In the feed. Waiting to be shared before the algorithm catches it. Or before someone reports it. Or maybe it stays up. Who knows?
Democracy fades. Or does it just get louder?
