Natalie Maines of The Chicks blasts Trump’s $1.776B fund as payment for ‘insurrectionists’

Natalie Maines, lead singer of The Chicks (formerly the Dixie Chicks), took aim at President Trump on Instagram this week, calling him a “fugly slut” and accusing him of directing taxpayer money toward participants in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. 

“Our democracy is disappearing right before our eyes,” Ms. Maines wrote, pairing the post with a carousel that included a close-up image of Mr. Trump and photos from the Capitol siege. “This fugly slut is using your gas money to pay the insurrectionists. But don’t worry about it. I’m sure posting selfies will fix everything.” 

She noted that a previous post using the same language had been removed from Instagram and urged followers to repost the message. She also referenced Mr. Trump’s name appearing in documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, though Mr. Trump has not been charged with any crime in connection with the Epstein matter.

The post came after the Justice Department announced the creation of a $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” as part of a settlement in Mr. Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns. Under the settlement, Mr. Trump, his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization will receive a formal apology but no monetary payment or damages of any kind. Instead, the fund will be directed by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to provide “a systematic process to hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare.” 

The fund would give Jan. 6 rioters pardoned by Mr. Trump a mechanism to seek taxpayer payouts for their claims of government overreach — one of several categories of potential claimants under the broad “weaponization” framework. Asked whether Jan. 6 rioters could be reimbursed, Mr. Trump said the fund is “reimbursing people that were horribly treated,” adding that some had been “imprisoned wrongly” and had their lives destroyed. Officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6 have filed suit to dissolve the fund, calling it a “corrupt sham.” 

The case was effectively closed after U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams said she was “stripped of jurisdiction” following the filing — signaling she would not challenge the settlement. 

Ms. Maines has a history of confrontations with Republican presidents. In 2003, she criticized President George W. Bush at a concert in London, after which radio stations stopped playing The Chicks’ music and the band lost much of its standing in country music. She initially apologized for the remark, describing it as “disrespectful,” before retracting the apology three years later, saying Mr. Bush deserved no respect. 

The Chicks, who have won 13 Grammy Awards, rebranded from the Dixie Chicks in 2020, reportedly to distance the group from associations with the Confederacy.

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