GENE SIMMONS On DONALD TRUMP: 'He's Not A Politician And Doesn't Really Care What Anybody Thinks'

Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station recently conducted an interview with Gene Simmons. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below.

The KISS bassist/vocalist — who is a former contestant on Donald Trump's "The Celebrity Apprentice" series — was asked if he still speaks to the billionaire real estate mogul. He responded: "Yes, I do. And the president is pretty much the same guy you see on TV or in public office. People have public personas and private personas, but I don't think the president has a filter. I know the man well enough, and I've known President Clinton and President Bush, and I will say this on the president's behalf: he's not a politician and doesn't really care what anybody thinks. That's neither good nor bad. What you see is what you get — there's no filter there."

Back in September, Simmons told "The Strombo Show" that "it's too early" to judge Trump's presidency. "Do I think he said a lot of stupid things? Oh, yeah," Simmons said. "He says stupid things, and so do you, and so [do] I. I'm not validating it, but… There's not a human being that walks on the face of the planet that privately hasn't made racist or anti-Semitic or anti-women jokes, or anti-Irish jokes. Privately, everybody does it. He is a Tourette's president who will say whatever he wants, and he doesn't give a fuck if you approve of him, and he's doing the job for one dollar. I like that."

Gene also defended Trump's occasional off-color remarks and frequently outrageous statements, saying: "I don't know anybody here who hasn't said stupid things publicly or privately, and if they get outed, if you get caught on tape, from Mel Gibson to everyone… I know Mel very well, and I'm Jewish myself, and he said some stupid things, racist things, anti-Semitic things when he was, you know, high or drunk or whatever. But I know the guy, I know that he gave a twenty-million dollar check to start mending kids privately and never talked about it, I know the guy that goes out of his way to help refugees and stuff like that and doesn't advertise it. It's your deeds, not what you say. You've said potty words and so have I. So I'm gonna give the guy who was duly elected a chance to show us what he can do, and then I'll judge his legacy."

Simmons previously confirmed that KISS was inivited to perform at Trump's inauguration but turned it down because it was "not a good idea."

Simmons said that he "didn't necessarily vote for President Trump or candidate Clinton" in last year's presidential election, adding that "it's really nobody's damn business" whom he voted for. "I think you'd be surprised by my choice — but he's President Trump, because even if you don't like the man, you must respect the office of the presidency and the will of the Electoral College," he said.

Photo credit: Mark Weiss

Interview (audio):