USA TODAY Welcome to a new kind of tension, President Trump. As the U.S. leader began his first official visit to the United Kingdom Thursday, Green Day's 2004 punk-protest anthem "American Idiot" re-entered the British pop chart, where it currently sits at No. 18. It's faring considerably better over on the British Amazon best-seller list, where it's No. 1. In the interest of historical accuracy, the song, which was released the summer before the 2004 election, and the album of the same name were actually inspired by the first term of President George W. Bush and his administration's rush to war with Iraq in 2003 over claims of weapons of mass destruction that were later debunked. However, the song deals primarily with the issue of fascism in general, with lyrics like "don't want a nation under the new mania / And can you hear the sound of hysteria? / The subliminal mind-(expletive) America." The U.K. campaign was spearheaded by a Twitter account called American Idiot for UK No. 1 When Trump Visits. "Want to annoy Donald Trump and Nigel Farage this week?" it asked in a tweet posted earlier this week. "Buy a download of 'American Idiot' by Green Day, then keep streaming it, get watching the official video on Youtube, too. Keep doing that until midnight on Thursday. Why? Because if enough people in the U.K. do this, it will create enough sales to be the official No. 1 single on the very day Trump lands on U.K. soil." "American Idiot" is far from the only high-profile protest on display: Trump was also greeted by the now famous Trump baby blimp as well as a crop circle bearing a crude message in Russian. The only problem: He may not see them because he's traveling between destinations by helicopter. Representatives for Green Day did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment.<doc-sep>American Idiot type Music When President Donald Trump arrives in the U.K. for a visit beginning July 13, a growing group of protestors have one goal: make Green Day‘s “American Idiot” the No. 1 song on the English charts. So far, it seems to be working. As of Tuesday afternoon, the song, released in 2004, was the No. 1 song on Amazon’s U.K. best-seller list. It’s also at No. 18 on Britain’s Official Singles Chart; according to Chart Data, it’s been bouncing in and out of the Top 10 and Top 20 ranking. A Facebook group promoting the social media campaign has more than 20,000 followers and has been calling on said followers to download “American Idiot” between July 6 and July 12. Trump will attend the NATO summit in Brussels around this time, kicking off his travels through Europe. Green Day has yet to comment, but the band’s official Twitter feed retweeted a remark from Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine on Friday regarding reports that Trump had planned to gift North Korean leader Kim Jong-un with a CD featuring Elton John’s “Rocket Man,” a nod to Trump’s nickname for the Supreme Leader. (Trump recently said he still has the CD since Security of State Mike Pompeo wasn’t able to meet with Kim during his most recent visit.) “And Kim Jong Un sends back a copy of Green Day’s ‘American Idiot,'” Kaine had tweeted. Michael Pritchard, known professionally as Green Day’s bassist Mike Dirnt, responded to the protest campaign back in April. “Let’s do this!” he tweeted. “I f–ing hate Donald Trump so much,” he said during a Live Nation-hosted show in Cannes Lions, France this past June, according to Variety. “I used to scream I hated George Bush. This one is a little different. This one is bad, it’s like acid gone bad. F–ing LSD and the American Right, man.”<doc-sep>The 2004 Green Day hit song “American Idiot” is climbing the charts in the United Kingdom ahead of President Trump Donald TrumpTrump lashes out after grand jury seated for New York criminal probe Schumer tees up vote on Jan. 6 commission bill Senators struggle to save Jan. 6 commission MORE’s visit there later this week. HuffPost reported Monday that the song is the No. 1 single on Amazon’s list of best-selling songs in Britain. A Twitter account created to increase the song's popularity ahead of Trump’s visit indicated over the weekend that the track was a top-10 seller on iTunes, as well. The song was originally written, in part, about then-President George W. Bush. We’ve crept up into the iTunes Top 10 (AND another version at #17 too!) and still at #1 on Amazon! Keep sharing to others what we are all doing! #MAIGA pic.twitter.com/4wuuElNwrC — American Idiot For UK No.1 When Trump Visits (@TrumpIdiotNo1) July 7, 2018 ADVERTISEMENT Sen. Tim Kaine Timothy (Tim) Michael KaineMilitary Appreciation month is a time to honor America's bravest heroes Sanders push to block arms sale to Israel doomed in Senate Mask rules spark confusion, tensions in Congress MORE (D-Va.) last week also cited the Green Day hit in mocking Trump. In response to reports that Trump sent North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a copy of the Elton John song "Rocket Man," the senator joked that Kim should return the favor by giving Trump "American Idiot." Trump is scheduled to visit the U.K. from Thursday through Sunday as he meets with Prime Minister Theresa May and other British officials. Thousands of people are expected to turn out to protest Trump's first visit since taking office. Among the planned demonstration is a large "Trump baby" blimp, which was approved by London city officials to fly over Parliament. Trump will largely steer clear of London during his stay, but the White House disputed that it was to avoid the likely protests.<doc-sep>Green Day's hit 2004 song "American Idiot" is dipping in and out of the UK charts ahead of Donald Trump's impending visit on 13 July. The song was the No.1 single on Amazon's list of best-selling songs on 9 July, and it also crept into the iTunes Top 10 on the same day, according to the Huffington Post. Chart Data also reports that the song cracked the Top 20 on Britain's Official Singles chart midway through the charting week. Its renewed success is down to a fan campaign aiming to increase the song's popularity and get it to No.1. A Twitter account is encouraging fans to download and stream the song from Friday 6 July to the end of 12 July so the song will be in the charts when Trump lands in the UK. In January, Mr Trump reportedly told Theresa May that he would not visit unless she banned protests, which she said would be impossible. He will meet the Queen on his arrival in London, the US ambassador to the UK, Robert Wood Johnson, told media: "Meeting Her Majesty is the most important thing because she's the head of state and, from then on, it'll be what the president wants to do." The Queen has met every single US president since 1945 with the exception of Lyndon Johnson. It is understood that she will entertain Trump at Windsor Castle, which will be closed to the public on the day of his visit. "American Idiot" was originally written in part about President George W. Bush and features lyrics such as: "Don't wanna be an American idiot/One nation controlled by the media/Information Age of hysteria/It's calling out to idiot America." It was recently referenced by Sen. Tim Kaine, who suggested that if the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, planned on gifting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un with a CD of Elton John's song "Rocket Man", Kim should reciprocate with "American Idiot". The song isn't the only way people are protesting Trump's visit. Activist Leo Murray successfully raised the necessary £16,000 to pay for 'Project Trump Baby' - a six metre-high inflatable baby resembling Trump, with unusually small hands and feet, which will be flown over London when the real-life version arrives.<doc-sep>
Green Day's 2004 hit single "American Idiot" is climbing to the top of the U.K. music charts, ahead of President Donald Trump's visit this week. On Monday, the rock track emerged in the No. 1 spot on Amazon's best-sellers list (via HuffPost). The song has also been popping up on the iTunes singles chart, and Chart Data confirmed that it re-entered the U.K. Top 20 earlier this week. UK mid week (singles): "Three Lions" returns to #1, Drake's "In My Feelings" debuts and Green Day's "American Idiot" re-enters the top 20. — chart data (@chartdata) July 9, 2018 The re-emergence of the decade-old song was driven by a social media campaign first launched in May that aimed to make the song No. 1 on the charts during Trump's visit to the U.K. The Twitter group "American Idiot for UK No.1 When Trump Visits" regularly urges Trump critics to purchase, download and listen to the song in order to boost its ratings. "Want to annoy Donald Trump and Nigel Farage this week?" they tweeted on Sunday. "Simple. Buy a download of 'American Idiot' by Green Day then keep streaming it, get watching the official video on YouTube too. Keep doing that until midnight on Thursday." Paul Shane and Jeffrey Holland, the organizers of the group, told Newsweek that they first started the campaign in January 2017. "[When] Theresa May offered Trump a full state visit, 1.8 million people signed a government petition to protest this," they said. "We thought we'd protest in a different way. We thought this would be amusing." My fellow Brits... we have a job to do Links here: https://t.co/ATx90lu88S pic.twitter.com/JbqNCNVngS — American Idiot For UK No.1 When Trump Visits (@TrumpIdiotNo1) July 8, 2018 "American Idiot" was originally inspired by American political events that occurred around the time it was released, such as George W. Bush's presidency and the Iraq war. Last week, Senator Tim Kaine referenced the "American Idiot" campaign in a Trump-mocking tweet. After reports emerged indicating that Trump had gifted Kim Jong Un with a copy of Elton John's song "Rocket Man," Kaine joked that the North Korean leader sent back a copy of "American Idiot." And Kim Jong Un sends back a copy of Green Day’s “American Idiot.” https://t.co/YCGjR2QcgU — Tim Kaine (@timkaine) July 6, 2018 Trump is set to make his first visit as president to the U.K., where he will meet with British Prime Minister Theresa May and Queen Elizabeth II. The president is scheduled to visit the U.K. from Thursday to Sunday this week. He will stay in London on the night of his arrival but will spend the rest of his trip outside of the capital. The move was speculated to have been decided in order to avoid planned protests in the area. This story was updated to include comments from Paul Shane and Jeffrey Holland​.