Tucker Carlson conducted a live interview with Kid Rock this past Friday (September 20) at Grand Rapids, Michigan’s Van Andel Arena as part of former Fox News host’s arena tour. You can now watch the entire discussion below, courtesy of the Tucker Carlson YouTube channel.

Asked by Carlson why he decided to start publicly voicing his conservative political views, Kid Rock, a dedicated supporter of former U.S. president and current presidential

candidate Donald Trump, said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I mean, part of it was I got older and wiser, but to be honest, I had the money in the bank. And at the end of the day, when I really thought about it — it sounds hokey, but I just care about this country too much. And it wasn’t really a conscious thing; I just started kind of doing it, getting involved. And one thing led to another. I had a couple talks with just friends.

“I’m not one of these people that has this big-machine team, have this big team around them where every… Clearly every tweet’s not screened. [Laughs] Everything that comes out of my mouth or the decisions I make, I take responsibility for it all. It’s me. There’s no filters in there. But when it came, it was, like, there’s gonna be no corporate deals, this, that and the other. And I’m, like, ‘Good.’ I’m, like, I’m so sick of dealing with… the B.S. that goes on in these corporate things. And I’ve only aligned myself with — Coors Light; I deal with them. I deal with Jim Beam. 

I deal with Harley-Davidson and Chevy trucks. These are all things that I was involved in. And still, even though I used all those things, dealing with the corporate bullshit. I was, like, ‘Yeah, if I never see that again, I could care less.’ And there’s no amount of money on the face of this earth, ’cause I’ve turned down tons of it, that would ever get me to be vocal or be somebody I’m not. And then people would see somebody different than who I really am.”

When Carlson said that he thinks it was “a harder decision” for Kid Rock than the musician is admitting, Kid added: “Like I said, I had the money in the bank, so it was… A lot of people don’t wanna mess with their bottom line. A lot of people — anybody, this goes for anybody — they’re scared of their social standing. God forbid mom drops off the kids at school with a MAGA hat on, you know what I mean? All of a sudden, you’re this polarizing, divisive person because you said, ‘I wanna make America great again’? I was, like, ‘How dare you?’ [Laughs] People are scared. I’ve been a lot of things. One thing I’ve never been is scared, that’s for sure.”

Asked if he thinks his being vocal about his conservative political views has “cost” him anything, Kid said: “No. I was planning on it probably… Like, ‘Hey, you have the potential to give up a lot.’ And I’m, like, ‘I don’t care.’ It’s, like, ‘Whatever.’ This tells me it’s the right thing to do. This is what my Lord and savior Jesus Christ tells me is the right thing to do. And I’m gonna follow my heart.

“The last full tour I did a few years ago, the only thing I did to promote it was the thing [interview] I did with you,” he told Carlson. “That was it. I didn’t do one piece of press. We sold out every city on that tour. And it just goes to show you, if you speak your truths, and I mean they have to be your truths — not something you heard, not something you’re repeating to get somewhere, to get to a certain stature — but if it’s really your truths, you, your families, your friends, things you believe in, good things will come.”

Kid Rock made an appearance at the fourth and final night of the Republican National Convention in July, performing his track “American Bad Ass” but changing the song’s lyrics to support Trump.

Kid Rock previously told Rolling Stone magazine that he knew it would be risky to publicly back Trump.

“When I doubled down on it, I knew that could be a career ender,” he said. “But I was betting that there were a lot of like-minded people out there.”

Other musicians who have come out in support of Trump include Ted Nugent, STAIND‘s Aaron Lewis and SYSTEM OF A DOWN‘s John Dolmayan.

Formerly of Fox News, Carlson currently publishes episodes of his long-form podcast “Tucker Carlson Show” each week. He is also the author of two New York Times bestselling books “Ship Of Fools” and “The Long Slide”.

Carlson‘s guests in other cities during the 15-city tour include Russell Brand (Phoenix, September 4),Megyn Kelly (September 12, Kansas City),Alex Jones (September 16, Milwaukee),Roseanne Barr (September 24, Fort Worth) and Donald Trump Jr. (September 28, Jacksonville).