Elton John loves a good joke. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer revealed over the weekend that he thought former one-term President Donald Trump’s repurposing of the pop star’s 1972 classic “Rocket Man” as a nickname for North Korean dictator Kim Jung Un was “hilarious.”
That’s what John, 77, told Variety during the Toronto Film Festival after Friday’s premiere of the Disney+ documentary Elton John: Never Too Late. Trump, who frequently boasted of his good relations with dictators such as Un and Russian president Vladimir Putin during his term in office — and who has made a habit of referring to friends and foes alike with taunting nicknames — proudly referred to the North Korean leader as “Little Rocket Man” in press briefings.
“I laughed, I thought that was brilliant,” said John. “I just thought, ‘Good on you, Donald.’ … Donald’s always been a fan of mine, and he’s been to my concerts many, many times. So, I mean, I’ve always been friendly toward him, and I thank him for his support. When he did that, I just thought it was hilarious. It made me laugh.”
Trump administration CIA director/Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote in his 2022 Never Give An Inch memoir that Trump had to explain the nickname to Un, who was reportedly not familiar with John’s music when Trump autographed one of Elton’s CD’s as a gift to the dictator.
In 2018, South Korean media reported that when Pompeo visited North Korea that July for a round of denuclearization talks, the commander-in-chief sent along two gifts for his North Korean counterpart: a personal note as well as a signed CD with a recording of John’s “Rocket Man” after Un said during an earlier meeting with Trump that he did not know the Honky Chateau hit.
John said he was not surprised by any of it. “Of course he hasn’t heard of me, Kim Jong Un. I’d be very surprised if he had,” John told the magazine. “I’ve never toured North Korea, and I have no intention of doing so. But, I thought it was a light moment, and it was fun.”
Though John had a jovial attitude about the musical way twice-impeached Trump cozied up to the North Korean strongman whose decade-plus in office has been marked by the reported assassinations of family members, repression of human rights and widespread starvation, Variety noted that the singer also seemed to take a veiled swipe at the convicted felon who will face off with Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris in their first, and only, debate on Tuesday night (Sept. 10).
“Kindness will always win out… that’s what I hope for the American election in November,” said John, who later elaborated on what many political experts warn is an existential choice American voters are facing in November’s presidential face-off. “I don’t go on stage and say to people, ‘You must vote for the Republicans, you must vote for the Democrats.’ It’s none of my business how they vote. They come to see me, and I’m so grateful they have,” said John. “What I want by saying that last night … there is a danger, as Dick Cheney said the other day. America is in a very volatile position. And it’s a country I love, and I’ve always loved, and I’m so thankful that it made me who I am.”
During the 2016 presidential contest, John hailed then Democratic candidate former Senator and Sec. of State Hillary Clinton. “America is already great – and Hillary is a part of the reason why. So tonight, I’m proud to say: I’m with her!” he said at an all-star fundraiser for the former First Lady in what turned out to be a losing contest with Trump.
Over the weekend, former Bush administration Vice President and staunch Republican Dick Cheney announced that he will be voting for Democrat Harris over Trump while issuing a warning that Trump should “never be trusted with power again,” adding, “In our nation’s 248-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump. He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him.”
John, who is a citizen of the UK despite owning homes in the U.S. for decades, made it clear that he is not the type to tell people how to vote or how to feel about their elected officials. “I just want people to vote for things that are just, things that are important to people: the right to choose, the right to be who you are, and not let anybody else tell you who to be. And that goes all the way up to the Supreme Court,” he said.
Trump has repeatedly boasted of seating three conservative justices on the Supreme Court who helped reverse more than half a century of precedent when they overturned the constitutional right to abortion in 2022; in his concurring opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, conservative justice Clarence Thomas appeared to suggest that other long-established precedents, including the 2015 decision legalizing gay marriage, could also be up for reconsideration, or reversal, in the future.
John, who shares two young children with husband/manager David Furnish, fell short of an explicit endorsement of either major party candidate, but did encourage Americans to vote with their hearts and choose hope over bluster and division. “I just hope that people make the right decision to see what the future is going to be. Is it going to be fire and brimstone … or are we going to have a much calmer, a much safer place?” John said. “People can vote for who they like, but as far as I’m concerned, I love love. And I’m a loving person, and I want that to come back to America. I feel it’s been lost in the last 12 years.”
Elton John: Never Too Late will have a limited theatrical run in November before streaming on Disney+ beginning Dec. 13.
