\n<\/p>\n
\n\tKiss<\/a> co-founders Gene Simmons<\/a> and Paul Stanley<\/a> \u2014\u00a0who will be among 2025\u2019s Kennedy Center<\/a> Honors recipients<\/a> after Donald Trump<\/a>\u2018s takeover and populist revamping there \u2014\u00a0haven\u2019t had much to say about the president during his second term. But before that, they were fairly vocal on Trump, with opinions from Simmons, who competed on the Trump-hosted Celebrity Apprentice<\/em> in 2008,\u00a0notably shifting over time. (Former guitarist Ace Frehley, for what it\u2019s worth, said<\/a> he was a Trump supporter in 2020.) Here\u2019s what Simmons and Stanley had to say over the years about Trump, who\u2019s hosting the event himself.<\/p>\n \n\t \n\tJuly 2016<\/strong>: Simmons calls<\/a> Trump a \u201clegitimate, upstanding guy\u201d and a \u201cstraight shooter\u201d on CNN, while acknowledging Trump had been \u201cungentlemanly\u201d and was \u201cbetter and smarter\u201d than some of his worst comments.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tSeptember 2017<\/strong>: After Kiss turns down an invitation to play Trump\u2019s inauguration. Simmons tells<\/a> The Daily Beast<\/em>, \u201cIn this polarizing era, it\u2019s not a good idea.\u201d<\/p>\n September\u00a02017<\/strong>: \u201cWhether somebody likes it or not, he\u2019s the duly-elected president and I think you have to respect the presidency,\u201d Simmons tells<\/a> Rolling Stone<\/em>. Asked if he thinks Trump is doing a good job, he replies, \u201cnot yet.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tMay 2018<\/strong>:\u00a0Simmons defends some Trump policies, including moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem plans to build a border wall. \u201cThe Vatican has a big wall around it for the same reason,\u201d he tells <\/a>CNBC. \u201cThey want to find out who\u2019s coming in there.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tJuly 2019<\/strong>: \u201cPolitics has forever changed,\u201d Trump tells <\/a>Good Morning Britain<\/em>. \u201cWhether you like it or not, this president has changed it.\u201d He describes Trump as \u201ca New York streetfighter\u201d and says \u201cEarth has never been in better shape\u2026 Unemployment in the United States is the lowest it\u2019s been in 50 years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t\tGene Simmons<\/strong>\t<\/h2>\n
March 2016<\/strong>: Simmons predicts Trump\u2019s victory in a Rolling Stone <\/em>interview, while stopping short of declaring his support. \u201cHe is the truest political animal I\u2019ve ever seen onstage,\u201d Simmons says<\/a>. \u201cHe has no speechwriters, no editing, no nothing. He\u2019s actually on tape going \u2018motherfucker.\u2019 You cannot turn away\u2026 He has said some very vile, unkind things. But don\u2019t kid yourself. He speaks off the cuff, and what you see is what you get. And he\u2019ll double down. If you ask him about building a wall [between the U.S. and Mexico] he\u2019ll say, \u2018Fuck you, I\u2019m going to make it 10 feet higher, just because you asked me.\u2019 He\u2019s not there to be your friend\u2026. He\u2019s good for the political system.\u201d<\/p>\n