A real photo of Kid Rock addressing service members at the Pentagon today (from yesterday):

[demmiblue]

A real photo of Kid Rock addressing service members at the Pentagon today. Nice summation of where things stand in the United States.

— Brandon Friedman (@brandonfriedman.bsky.social) 2026-04-28T02:23:16.778Z

Photo source

— Brandon Friedman (@brandonfriedman.bsky.social) 2026-04-28T02:29:25.387Z

Why are taxpayers paying to fly Kid Rock around on 0 million helicopters?

— Governor Newsom Press Office (@govpressoffice.gov.ca.gov) 2026-04-27T21:11:39.894Z

[Solly Mack]

1. America has become the joke and punchline.

[sheshe2]

2. JFC!

[haele]

3. Ummm, when was Kid Rock relevant?

The 20-somethings and 30-somethings are already starting to put the 2000/2010's musicians like Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish, Bruno Mars, et. all into the Nostalgia bin to wait and see who has staying power. Who can becomes the next Bruce Springsteen, David Byrne, David Grohl, Billy Joe, Dolly Parton, Stevie Wonder, Stevie Nicks...

I'm sure the Military guys seated there are just waiting for liberty call jump into their civvies and jacked up 4-wheeling trucks to grab a few cases of beer and jam on Kid Rock while they're driving at high speeds along backwoods dirt roads to a remote creekside fire pit where all the hot chicks are hanging out...so seeing Kid Rock would be a treat worth a million dollar helicopter ride, right?

[Sneederbunk]

4. He ain't Bob Hope.

[bluesbassman]

11. Bob Dope

[Shellback Squid]

5. This is incredibly embarrassing to the US

[Polly Hennessey]

6. It get more embarrassing 🙈 for our country each day.

[underpants]

7. At least this one wasn't pre-recorded

[AnotherMother4Peace]

8. He's a sick piece of shit & fits right in. His lyrics:

"Young ladies, young ladies, I like 'em underage, see
Some say that's statutory (But I say it's mandatory)"

[Prairie_Seagull]

9. Feel like I have died,

and gone to hell. Being an atheist that takes some doing.

[VGNonly]

10. $7,000 per hour to fly an Apache.

That's a bargain compared $42,000 for F35 jet, so Kegsbreath was watching out for fiscal dollar.

[NameAlreadyTaken]

12. So Kid Rock will become Secretary of

Defense when they fire Hegseth?

[Kid Berwyn]

13. Note the camera recording the audience.

Psyop City.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

14. MaddowBlog-Hegseth faces pushback after giving Kid Rock 'joy rides' on Apache helicopters

“Why is Pete Hegseth spending your taxpayer dollars to give Kid Rock ‘joy rides’ on Apache helicopters?” one Democratic lawmaker asked.

Hegseth faces pushback after giving Kid Rock ‘joy rides’ on Apache helicopters
“Why is Pete Hegseth spending your taxpayer dollars to give Kid Rock ‘joy rides’ on Apache helicopters?” one Democratic lawmaker asked.
MS NOW: apple.news/A_zXw-8mITPq...
😡unbelievable, two drunks playing military guys

— CVJ (@enuffsaysv.bsky.social) 2026-04-28T21:23:22.643Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/hegseth-faces-pushback-after-giving-kid-rock-joy-rides-on-apache-helicopters

It was about a month ago when an entertainer named Kid Rock, who had one Top 10 hit nearly a quarter century ago, shared videos via social media of Apache helicopters doing a flyby at his home in Nashville, Tennessee. The clips showed the entertainer, whose real name is Robert Ritchie, saluting and applauding the troops......

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, however, came to a very different conclusion about the value of playing games, reversed the crew members’ suspension and abruptly closed the Army’s investigation. The New York Times reported that the moves represented “a remarkable intervention from the highest level of the Pentagon,” adding that the decree “was another indication of his contempt for legal guardrails in the military.”

Common sense might have suggested Hegseth would exercise at least some greater caution going forward. In the Pentagon chief’s office, however, common sense is apparently in short supply. The Associated Press reported:

Kid Rock and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth both flew in Army Apache attack helicopters at a base in Virginia on Monday, weeks after military pilots drew scrutiny for hovering near the entertainer’s Tennessee home.

On social media Monday night, Hegseth posted photos of himself and Kid Rock at the base. … Drop Site News was first to report Monday’s flights in Virginia.

For good measure, the former Fox News host also posted a photo of the entertainer speaking to a group of service members in the Pentagon press briefing room.

The AP’s report added that an Army Apache helicopter costs about $7,000 per hour to fly, which naturally led to a fresh round of questions about wasting public resources for, to borrow the president’s phrasing, “playing games.”,....

At a press briefing last week, the beleaguered defense secretary was asked whether he feels like he’s “on a power trip.” Hegseth dismissed the line of inquiry, though with the Kid Rock incidents in mind, concerns along these lines are likely to linger.