But he’s not. He’s Kid Rock. He was into hip-hop, then rap-rock, then Southern rock revivalism. His political positions shift the same way. He told protesters to “kiss his ass” over a Confederate flag he flew behind him at concerts, then ditched the flag and condemned white supremacy. He has a song called “Abortion” where a father contemplates suicide over the loss of his unborn child, but he has also criticized the pro-life movement in interviews. He, like Trump, says whatever he feels like saying when he feels like it.

Of course, Trump won. But it only threw the Republican Party further into turmoil. Its future, if anything, is less clear than ever. Republicans don’t know what policies win elections because Donald Trump didn’t actually have any policies.

Kid Rock might have gotten Republicans closer to a win in Michigan than a more traditional candidate, but he wouldn’t have given them any answers. If Republicans really think they can understand a complicated part of a complicated country through a rabble-rousing rap-rocker, the joke’s on them.