Rod Stewart's Unlikely Friendship With Donald Trump Turned Rocky

Before his controversial presidential run, Donald Trump had a lot of friends in the entertainment industry. One of which happened to include Rod Stewart. The "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" singer has been friends with the former president for years. Initially, their friendship started strong, and it seemed as though nothing could come between the two.

In 2012, Rod Stewart and his wife, Penny Lancaster-Stewart joined the Trumps in a New Year's Eve celebration at his famous Mar-a-Lago estate, per The Palm Beach Post. Although the Grammy winner would probably not want to be caught at this property any time soon with the latest scandal of Trump obtaining classified documents at the estate. Still, this was long before the former president had anything to do with politics, and Trump seemed to have a mutual respect for the musician. In 2015, Trump tweeted his support for the singer's album as he wrote, "Rod, album is great!" The two were close with one another and even as the businessman began his presidential run in 2015, Stewart remained loyal to his friend.

Although he didn't want to talk about Trump's campaign, he reiterated that he and the then-presidential candidate were friends. He told Billboard, "I have strong political beliefs, and I don't want to get into it. Donald Trump happens to be a friend of mine." But as Trump became more controversial, Stewart took a step back from the former president and has since had a rocky relationship with him.

Initially, it didn't seem like Rod Stewart was leaning one way or another during the 2016 presidential race. However, he seemed to have a change of tune as voting for the 2016 election was quickly approaching. According to the Daily Mail, Stewart had shared some harsh words about his former friend, Donald Trump, and encouraged voters to swing a different way. Stewart shared, "Although he's sort of a friend of mine, I don't think he's presidential. I don't think he's made to be a president." Donald couldn't count on a vote from his former pal, but he didn't need it. In 2016, the former businessman was elected president of the United States.

The standing of Stewart and Donald's rocky friendship got a little more confusing in 2018. That year, Donald's son, Eric Trump, was seen attending one of Stewart's concerts, per Vanity Fair. While many would think this would make the two friends again, it clearly didn't after the "Maggie May" singer called out Donald for his actions toward climate change.

In 2020, Stewart spoke on the "How To Wow" podcast about climate change. Amidst his rant, the musician also took a shot at his former pal, Donald. He shared, "We're literally, I believe we're too late. ... And now with that p**** in the White House, pulling out of the Paris Accord, it's terrible. I love America, I don't love their president." Safe to say, the friendship was long over.

This tumultuous friendship between Rod Stewart and Donald Trump has only gotten worse, and now Stewart's wife, Penny Lancaster, has gotten involved. According to The New York Post, the musician revealed to the Scottish Field Magazine that his wife has forbidden him from hanging out with his former friend, Trump. He said, "I used to go to [Trump's] Christmas party and the balls he held but my wife said, 'no.' There was stuff he was coming out with, what he was saying about women he had known in the past, and Penny said, 'You're not going — he's a disgrace.'" Lancaster isn't wrong, there have been plenty of incidents involving Trump where he has said some horrible things about women.

For one, Trump was involved in an infamous Access Hollywood interview where he shared degrading comments about women, per The New York Times. At one point, the former president talked about assaulting women, "Grab 'em by the p****. You can do anything." Trump has also continuously referred to several women as "dogs" or "pigs" throughout his career and doesn't seem to have any remorse for doing so, per Newsweek. These have only been a couple of times the former president has made inappropriate remarks about the opposite sex. 

So, it's clear why Lancaster wouldn't want her husband hanging around someone who doesn't seem to respect women.