Chrissie Hynde praises Trump for honoring Rush Limbaugh because her dad loved the pundit

Liberal rock star Chrissie Hynde has shocked her fans by praising Donald Trump for honoring conservative radio icon Rush Limbaugh, saying her father ‘would have been so delighted’.

Hynde, the lead singer of The Pretenders, wrote an open letter to President Trump on Twitter Monday in which she says her late father Melville would have ‘enjoyed’ his presidency.

She said Melville, known as ‘Bud’, was a huge fan of Limbaugh, who was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor after he announced he had advanced lung cancer.

But she admitted that she ‘didn’t always see eye-to-eye’ with her father and that they ‘argued a lot.’

The rock star, 68, who has a history of animal rights activism, goes on to say: ‘But isn’t that the American way? The right to disagree without having your head chopped off?’

And she uses her open letter to plead for leniency for Julian Assange and says she plans to join a forthcoming protest in London against the extradition of the Wikileaks founder.

Trump honored Limbaugh during his State of the Union address earlier this month.

Limbaugh uses the famous bass line from The Pretenders tune ‘My City Was Gone’ on his program but Hynde said she had given him permission because her father liked him.

In her Twitter thread, Hynde says: ‘An open Letter to @realDonaldTrump, President of the United States. 

‘Dear Mr. President, I often think of how much my father, Melville ‘Bud’ Hynde, who proudly served his country as a Marine on Guadalcanal, would have enjoyed your Presidency.

‘The other day when you gave that award to Rush Limbaugh, my father would have been so delighted. He loved listening to Rush, which is why I allowed my song, ‘My City Was Gone’, to be used on his radio show. 

‘My father and I didn’t always see eye-to-eye. We argued a lot.

‘But isn’t that the American way? The right to disagree without having your head chopped off?’ 

She goes on to say her father ‘would be mortified’ that she was joining the Assange protest, but added that she feels ‘strongly enough’ to go.

She added: ‘What I believe is the right thing; to protest further punishment of a man who sought to defend Freedom, albeit in a way you rightly disagree with. 

‘I know Mr. Assange broke the law (as i have done defending the treatment of animals) but I believe he has been duly punished and should now be set free. 

‘Please consider my plea. Yours truly, Chrissie Hynde of @ThePretendersHQ (@MrsC_Assange).’

Her tweets received a mixed response with many praising her honesty and otyhers criticising her stance.

‘Your approach is civil and respectful. We need more dialogue like that. Both sides could learn from this approach,’ one Twitter user wrote. 

Another wrote: ‘Thanks for being honest and real! I respect any position you take. 

‘I love the honesty about your dad and your ability to take the high road! We can all get along even if we don’t always agree! God Bless!!’

Others said they were ‘disappointed’ with one saying: ‘I always wondered how he got permission to use your song.

‘It’s ok to love your dad yet not endorse his worldview, Chrissie.’

And another joked: ‘Change your password Chrissie, someone’s hacked your twitter account.’