KISS frontman Gene Simmons brushed aside partisan talking points in a CNN interview Sunday, arguing that Americans should worry less about who others vote for and more about treating each other like fellow citizens.
During a conversation with Manu Raju on Inside Politics, Simmons said he’s tired of strangers pressing him to declare a side.
“It’s nobody’s business who you support,” he said, adding that he bristles at the expectation that political allegiance should be publicly explained or defended. In Simmons’ view, those decisions belong to an individual’s conscience—not to coworkers, acquaintances, or neighbors.
Asked specifically about the Make America Great Again (MAGA) wing of the Republican Party, Simmons offered a mixed assessment, saying parts of it resonate while other parts don’t. But he quickly returned to his larger point: people should stop obsessing over one another’s beliefs.
“Have a sense of humor,” he said, urging Americans to ease up and accept that different viewpoints will always exist. “Stop worrying what your next-door neighbor believes or doesn’t believe. It’s their America too.”
Simmons also described speaking with President Donald Trump following the band’s Kennedy Center Honor earlier this year. He said the exchange felt less like politics and more like ordinary conversation.
After the ceremony, he recalled, they talked about family and everyday life—“How’s the family? How are the kids?”—as he emphasized that not every interaction needs to turn into a political debate.
Beyond the interview’s political themes, Simmons has also been active in Washington on music-industry issues. He appeared on Capitol Hill this month to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of the American Music Fairness Act.
The legislation would require AM and FM radio stations to pay recording artists and performers when their songs are broadcast, ending a long-standing exemption in U.S. copyright law. Supporters say it would bring traditional radio in line with digital and streaming platforms that already pay royalties, while setting low, flat fees intended to protect small local stations.
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., introduced this version of the bill in January. Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Alex Padilla, D-Calif., introduced a Senate counterpart this year, continuing a debate that has resurfaced in Washington for years. More than a dozen conservative groups have also urged House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to back the measure.
