DEE SNIDER Is Reconsidering His Decision To Allow DONALD TRUMP To Use TWISTED SISTER's 'We're Not Gonna Take It'

TWISTED SISTER singer Dee Snider has told CBC Radio in a new interview that he is reconsidering his decision to allow Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump to use the band's signature anthem "We're Not Gonna Take It" as the "exit song" at the controversial politician's recent campaign stops. Snider — who knows Trump personally after appearing more than once on "The Celebrity Apprentice" — said (hear audio below): "Donald called me… We're friends… He called me months ago and asked me if he could use it. I said, 'Look, this is not an endorsement. And I don't see eye to eye with you on everything. We agree on many things' — I said — 'but the song was written about rebellion, about shaking things up, about defying authority' — I said — 'and you certainly do that; you and Bernie Sanders.' So I said, 'I'm cool with that. But it's not an endorsement.' That was months ago now."

He continued: "Look, we all have friends who we love, we hang with, we can vacation with, we party with, but we don't talk abour religion, we don't talk about politics, we don't talk about sports, because we know that could be the end of our relationships. And that's with a lot of my close friends. I love them very much.

"What's going on now really has me questioning allowing the song to continue to be used, and it's very upsetting to me, 'cause I strongly don't agree with his extremist positions. And it's not so much… I know the man's not a racist — he's a friend of mine — but when you've got white supremacy groups aligning themselves with you and you don't denounce them…? You don't say, 'Wait a minute. I'm proposing this, but I'm not with these people here,' and draw some clarity. That's a problem for me. And I'm really sort of coming to the end of my road here with this."

Snider added: "I have to call Donald. I have to speak to him, as a friend. He was respectful enough to call me and say, 'How do you feel about me using this?' And I've gotta be — as a friend — respectful enough to call him and say, 'Listen, man, this has gotten wildly out of control, and I really have a problem with it.' As so many people have… His own party are… people are just distancing themselves. It's really gotten ugly."

Regarding whether there is a particular issue that he is not too cozy with that would make him go back on his decision to allow politicians like Trump to use the track, Snider said: "The first line of the song is: 'We've got the right to choose.' And that's where I draw the line. And that's really when… When a person wants to use the song who's against freedom of choice… And I don't know if Donald's hit that line yet; I haven't heard his views on being pro choice and abortion rights. I know where he used to stand. That's another thing… I just did a podcast on this: 'My Donald Trump versus the public Donald Trump.' And they're very different. My Donald Trump was a Democrat. My Donald Trumpis pro choice. My Donald Trump is what they call Northeastern Republican — fiscally conservative but socially liberal. But that's changing."

He continued: "The biggest thing about that song is it's about the right for people to choose for themselves. When it crosses that line, like Paul Ryan a number of years ago, who's as anti-pro-choice as you can get, I had to step up and say, 'Wait a minute. Didn't you vet the song? You're singing the song, 'We've got the right to choose',' and then railing against women's right to choose. So I can't endorse you using it.' And that's where I draw the line."

Snider was fired by Trump on NBC's "The Celebrity Apprentice" in 2013.

As of December 7, Donald Trump had 33% support among likely GOP caucusgoers, followed by Ted Cruz at 20% with Ben Carson at 16%, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio at 11% and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush at 4%, a new CNN/ORC Poll found.

Earlier this week, Trump drew condemnation from world leaders over his call to bar all Muslims from entering the United States.