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An interview of John Legend started making rounds on social media platforms this week. The clip was recorded during a public event at The Fifteen Percent Pledge's 15th Street Block Party in Hollywood in February 2025. In the video, the singer called Trump a "terrible leader."
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The video opened with John Legend saying:
"America made a decision that I strongly disagree with, and it seems that we are reaping the whirlwind right now, putting someone who is a terrible leader, especially in crisis."
Legend continued:
"He's already out blaming people, misinforming people, dividing people when a smart and responsible and political way to handle it would have been to bring people together."
When asked why Trump latched onto diversity, the Ordinary People singer responded by explaining the "hierarchy of racial groups." He said:
"Well, he's a bigot, so... it's a belief that there's a hierarchy of racial groups and that his group is genetically superior. Whenever he talks about competence and qualifications, any white man will do for him."
John Legend then compared the former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin with Pete Hegseth, a conservative media figure who Trump appointed to replace Austin. The singer stated this move suggested that his choice reflected racial bias.
This isn't the first time that Legend and his wife, Chrissy Teigen, have criticized Donald Trump. Previously, in April 2024, Legend described him as a "dyed-in-the-wool racist" in an interview with the former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on MSNBC.
According to BBC, their feud with Trump dates back to September 2019, when the President dismissed Legend as a "boring musician" and referred to Teigen as "filthy-mouthed" in an X post.
John Legend addressed Trump's attack on Haitian Immigrants in Ohio last year
In September 2024, during his presidential debate in Ohio, Donald Trump spoke about Haitian immigrants staying in Springfield. Responding to his claims, John Legend posted a video on his Instagram handle, saying:
"You may have heard of Springfield, Ohio, this week. In fact, if you watched the debate, we were discussed by our presidential candidates, including a very special, interesting man named Donald J. Trump."
Legend also shed light on the history of Springfield, and how the city saw a boost in employment opportunities under the Biden administration.
The singer then addressed that there were challenges resulting from the Haitian immigrants settling in the city, but concluded by speaking about embracing immigrants in all communities. He said:
"Nobody’s eating cats, nobody’s eating dogs. We all just want to live and flourish and raise our families in a healthy and safe environment. How about we love one another?"
John Legend ended his video by asking people not to spread "racist lies" about immigrants:
"I grew up in the Christian tradition. We said to love our neighbor as we love ourselves and treat strangers as though they might be Christ. How about we adopt that ethos, when we talk about immigrants moving to our communities, and don’t spread, hateful, xenophobic, racist lies about them?"
After taking office as the US President in January 2025, Donald Trump signed several executive orders to remove immigrants from the country.
