Before reuniting Bikini Kill in 2019, Kathleen Hanna pulled together members of her other band, Le Tigre, to throw their support behind Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016. “I’m with her/To the top/She’s with us /We won’t stop,” Hanna sang, decked out in a red pantsuit.
In case you really can’t recall what was happening in 2016 the month before the election, tensions were reaching a high between Trump supporters and those in Clinton’s camp. The song dropped October 19th, less than a month before the election. And we all know how that turned out.
The video was a campy affair, featuring pictures of cats (a nod to Trump’s “grab ‘em by the pussy” statements), Trump protests, and members of the band dancing. “She doesn’t bake cookies, doesn’t play much golf/And the whole world is watching her persistent cough/Pass the wicked witch a glass of water/Careful not to spill it, you might melt the Donald,” Hanna sings, tongue firmly in cheek.
Some fans looked askance at riot grrrl Hanna and Co. for taking such a blatantly political stance, but looking back on the song now, Hanna tells Rolling Stone: “I just feel like, look back at it. How happy is everybody that Trump is in the White House now? You know what I mean? Like, ‘You’re still giving me shit about that?’ I mean, look what happened.”
As for who she’s backing this time around, Hanna has her eye on Elizabeth Warren, who is facing off on Super Tuesday against the likes of Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders. “I really believe in [Elizabeth] Warren; I would love to see her win,” she says. “I just want Warren to get a bus that has some cool slogan, like Biden has ‘No Malarkey.’ The only thing I like about Biden is how he says these grandpa sayings. I love malarkey and chutzpah and moxie and all that stuff. I keep thinking he’s going to be like, ‘I’m going to do fisticuffs on you.’ ”
Hanna and Bikini Kill are heading out on tour this month for an extensive international run. Meanwhile, Clinton’s Hulu docuseries hits streaming on March 6th. She’s also set to headline a two-day series of live interviews titled “Conversations About America’s Future” at South by Southwest.
