The National Have Strong Words For Karl Rove

Fuck you, Karl https://t.co/3gXr8DYryw

— The National (@TheNational) September 9, 2017

Indie rockers, The National have some strong words for former President George W. Bush's Senior  Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff, Karl Rove. The tweet above is over comments made by Rove in a Newsweek  article about The Nation's song "Walk It Back" from their new album Sleep Well Beast which was released on September 8th.

The track uses a quote from a 2004 New York Times article written by Ron Suskind about the Bush presidency. The quote below says,

"People like you are still living in what we call the reality-based community. You believe that  solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality. That's not the way the world really works anymore. We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And  while you are studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors, and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do."

At the time, Suskind said the quote came from an unknown senior advisor to President Bush. Later the quote was attributed to Karl Rove, who denies ever saying it.

Frontman to The National, Matt Berninger reached out to Ron Suskind to use it for the song; Suskind, a fan of the band, was more than happy to let them use the quote. The National even wanted to pay royalties to Suskind for the use of their quote. In the process discussing sharing royalties, The National joked that Suskind should share his check with Karl Rove.

Rove did not share the same feelings that the others did. When he was reached for comment, Karl Rove said, "Suspect it [the song] won't make Casey Kasem's Top 40."

It is safe to safe that The National did not gain a new super fan in Karl Rove.