Jon Bon Jovi Says Feud With Donald Trump Over Buying Football Team Was ‘Seriously Scarring’

Jon Bon Jovi is looking back on his run-in with the former President of the United States, Donald Trump.

In a new interview with The Guardian, the rock superstar opened up about his career, his success and his surprisingly personal feud with Trump.

Talking about his band’s hit song “Livin’ On -A Prayer”, the singer admitted, “It bought a lot of people houses.”

But Bon Jovi said he hasn’t let success or wealth go to his head.

“My life is much more normal than one would imagine,” he said. “There are no platinum records hanging anywhere in my house. The trappings of rock stardom were never a part of my home,” adding that for many years, “my younger kids weren’t quite sure what I do.”

Talking about his recent single “Story Of Love”, which recounts much of the turmoil of the past year in the world and in politics, Bon Jovi explained that he is not worried about alienating some fans with his political positions on things like guns and supporting Black Lives Matter.

“There are men on my stage who see things differently, but I don’t let our differences come between us. I never wanted to become a captive to the stage. How I live my life’s up to me,” he said.

Asked if he would have ever let Trump use one of his songs at an event, the musician said, “No! No no no! On every issue we wholeheartedly disagree, from how he handled the COVID crisis to immigration to the Paris accord – everything! No! No!”

Bon Jovi and Trump’s history goes back further than the U.S. presidency, though. In 2014, the singer attempted to buy the NFL’s Buffalo Bills along with a group of Canadian investors.

Among the buyers they were up against was Trump, who launched a big campaign in the city to turn public opinion against Bon Jovi, stoking rumours he intended to move the team out of Buffalo.

“I was really shocked at the depths [Trump] went to,” Bon Jovi said. “He wasn’t even qualified to buy the team, because you have to submit your tax returns, and he never filed the paperwork. Instead, he did this dark shadow assassination thing, hoping to buy the team at a bargain basement price. But I just couldn’t understand how this misinformation was being put out there. It was seriously scarring.”

When the interviewer noted that had Trump been successful in buying the team, he might not have run for president, Bon Jovi said, “Yeah, for the sake of the world, he definitely should have got the team. Oh well.”