Kid Rock caused a stir last week when Sec. of Defense Pete Hegseth posted video of the rapper-turned-rocker-turned-MAGA-coded country singer taking a joy ride in a U.S. Army Apache helicopter. At the time, it was unclear what the purpose was of the fly-around in the $52 million piece of military hardware that can cost up to $7,000 an hour to keep in the air.
As it turns out, it was to film a commercial promoting Rock’s Freedom 250 Tour. In videos shared by fans who attended the kick-off of the tour in Dallas over the weekend where the video served to tee-up Rock’s entrance, the singer is seen smoking a stogie on his plane — emblazoned with a middle finger painting on its tail fin — as it lands on a tarmac, where it is met by Hegseth, who rolls up in a long caravan of black government SUVs.
It’s the second Apache encounter for Rock this year, following a fly-by at Rock’s Nashville estate by Army aviators in March, who also buzzed over a “No Kings” protest against Trump that day in Nashville. That flight also raised questions about whether those flights were authorized or had a military purpose. After initially saying it would investigate the maneuvers by the 101st Airborne Division and suspending the pilots involved, Hegseth intervened and shut down the probe.