Why does Jon Bon Jovi hate Donald Trump? Here's how they became rivals after a bid to buy Buffalo Bills in 2014
Jon Bon Jovi was never a fan of former President Donald Trump. However, the legendary rockstar did not only not approve of Trump's presidency, but he also shared a rivalry with the once Manhattan-based business tycoon back in 2014.
Back in the day, the singer was trying to buy NFL team the Buffalo Bills. He had some Canadian investors backing him and his main competitor was Trump who was planning to outbid him. But suddenly, Buffalo, New York, was filled with rumors that Bon Jovi and his partners would move the team out of the city resulting in a strong protest movement against the singer.
There were “Bon Jovi-free” zones and negative graffiti popping up across the city. Despite Bon Jovi's denial, Bills ultimately went to a third bidder. Three years later, it emerged that Michael Caputo, a political strategist who had been hired by Trump, started the anti-Bon Jovi campaign.
Bon Jovi on Trump and the Buffalo Bills
“I was really shocked at the depths [Trump] went to. He wasn’t even qualified to buy the team, because you have to submit your tax returns, and he never filed the paperwork. Instead, he did this dark shadow assassination thing, hoping to buy the team at a bargain-basement price. But I just couldn’t understand how this misinformation was being put out there. It was seriously scarring,” Bon Jovi recently said in an interview with the Guardian.
However, looking back, Bon Jovi regretted not letting Trump have the team of his dreams as it might have curbed his desire to run for office. “Yeah, for the sake of the world, he definitely should have got the team. Oh well,” he chuckled.
Who is Michael Caputo?
Caputo worked for Trump when he was president and was also questioned as part of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Caputo was also the one who orchestrated a pressure campaign for official reports into the Covid-19 crisis to be altered to be more flattering to Trump, it was reported last September. “I guess we lived a page of Trump’s playbook in Buffalo,” Bon Jovi said.
Bon Jovi, the Trump-hater
In October 2020, before the election took place, in a GQ interview, Bon Jovi said, “I’m heartbroken by the divide and wish that we lived in more of a ‘we’ society than a ‘me’ society. In the same breath, I understand why Donald Trump was elected, because of the voice of the voiceless that were overlooked that wanted to be heard and certainly deserved to be heard, so they have spoken up, and if they choose to elect that president again it will be the voice of the people, granted it’s a true and fair election."
In the most recent The Guardian interview, he said that he will be opposed to Trump using his music in the future. “No! No no no! On every issue, we wholeheartedly disagree, from how he handled the Covid-19 crisis to immigration to the Paris accord – everything! No! No!” he said after recoiling at the question of letting Trump use his music.
He also weighed in on how it felt to see his nemesis become president only two years after the battle in Buffalo. “Well, like all Americans, I have to support the office of the president – look how political I’m sounding! I’m trying to stop myself from bullsh*tting. The truth is, I was really disappointed," he said.