California Governor Gavin Newsom has thrown shade at self-described libertarian Kid Rock amid news that the musician allegedly rode with the US Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, in a helicopter. Newsom called out the supposed trip on social media, questioning why Hegseth agreed to splurge on taxpayers’ money to arrange the ride for the All Summer Long singer.
Gavin Newsom slams Kid Rock over $100 million helicopter ride
On April 27, the official X (formerly Twitter) handle of Gavin Newsom’s press office fired a shot at Kid Rock for reportedly accompanying Pete Hegseth on Apache helicopters.
“Why are taxpayers paying to fly Kid Rock around on $100 million helicopters?” the former San Francisco mayor questioned on the social media platform.
Newsom’s response comes after Drop Site News co-founder Ryan Grim reported that “Kid Rock flew to Fort Belvoir this morning on his private jet and took a little joy ride on 2 Apache helicopters with War Secretary Pete Hegseth.” Grim added that the update had come from multiple Army sources and was “backed up by flight data.”
The journalist also claimed that, despite military helicopters requiring a two-man crew to operate them, Hegseth and Kid Rock chose to go up with a solitary pilot so that they could each “ride shotgun.” He added that he was unaware how the Apache helicopters ended up at Fort Belvoir, since the Virginia base doesn’t usually house them.
The alleged incident happened just weeks after two AH-64 Apache helicopters showed up above Kid Rock’s residence. The singer filmed the ordeal and posted the footage on Instagram, along with the caption, “This is a level of respect that s*** for brains Governor of California will never know. God Bless America and all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to defend her.”
The Army said in a statement last month, “The army has confirmed that on 28 March, two Apache helicopters from the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Campbell conducted a flight in the Nashville area that has attracted public and media attention,” as per The Mirror. They explained that the choppers were reviewing “the circumstances surrounding the mission, including compliance with relevant FAA regulations, aviation safety protocol, and approval requirements.”
Originally reported by Apoorv Rastogi on Mandatory.
