There has long been an unofficial metric for any given politician’s electability that is centered on whether or not the average voter would feel comfortable sitting down with them and having a beer and a conversation, regardless of political differences.
For conservative rock star Kid Rock, an outspoken supporter of former President Donald Trump, the president who most fits that billing is former President Barack Obama, The Hill reported.
That admission from Kid Rock, whose real name is Bob Ritchie, came during a recent lengthy interview with comedian Bill Maher for the HBO host’s “Club Random” podcast.
“I want to drink beer with him”
According to the Daily Wire, the overarching theme of the nearly two-hour dialogue between the conservative-leaning Rock and liberal-leaning Maher was how Americans of differing partisan beliefs should try to set aside those differences and find areas of common ground on which there was agreement.
One example of that, amid the drinking and smoking and cussing and jokes that permeated the fascinating conversation, was Rock’s admission near the end that he would enjoy hanging out and having a beer with Obama.
“I want to hang out with Obama and drink beer,” Rock said at one point. “I mean there’s not a cooler — all the presidents that I’ve, you know, [been] able to meet, from Jimmy Carter up.”
“He can get down. I want to drink beer with him,” he continued but added, “I didn’t like a lot of his policies. I didn’t vote for him.”
Rock also recalled in that conversation with Maher how he had met Obama in 2009 when he had been invited along with rapper Kanye West to perform at Obama’s inauguration, and further shared a story of how he had brought his mixed-race son along with him to meet the first black president and how Obama had to intervene and overrule the Secret Service agents who initially had blocked the young boy from coming backstage.
Finding areas of agreement
There was, predictably, plenty of disagreement between Rock and Maher on certain issues, particularly with regard to former President Trump and current President Joe Biden, but the two men repeatedly agreed to disagree and moved on to discuss other topics.
One area where they did find a shared viewpoint was in their staunch opposition to the ideological left’s concerted push of transgenderism on young schoolchildren, the Daily Wire reported, which prompted Rock to joke, “Bill, welcome to the Republican Party,” though Maher declined the welcome and invitation with his own jokes.
The main theme of the explicit and often meandering conversation, finding common ground with those who have different political views — such as Rock wanting to drink beer with Obama — is an incredibly important one that, hopefully, is shared by a majority of Americans, as it could prove crucial in helping to keep the nation together and united in troubled times.