President Donald Trump has started using Village People’s iconic year six disco hit ‘Y.M.C.A’ after The Rolling Stones threatened to take legal action after the president continued to use their 1968 track ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ to soundtrack the end of his campaign rallies.
The news was confirmed by NBC News‘ Kelly O’Donnell, who took to Twitter on Friday, August 21st to confirm that the president had changed his walk-off song following the British rock royalty issuing multiple cease and desists.
“Now that I have seen it a few times at various events, clearly The Village People’s ‘Y.M.C.A’ is now the walk-off song for the president replacing the Rolling Stones’ ‘You can’t always get what you want’,” O’Donnell wrote.
This decision will certainly not sit well with Village People. Back in June, Victor Willis, the frontman of the disco greats, joined the roster of musicians formally requesting that Donald Trump refrain from playing their music at his rallies.
The musician took to Facebook on Friday to demand that Trump stop featuring the band’s songs ‘Y.M.C.A.’ and ‘Macho Man’, after the president deployed law enforcement officers to clear peaceful protesters from Lafayette square using tear gas, batons and explosive devices to make way for a photo opportunity in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church in the thick of the George Floyd protests.
“If Trump orders the U.S. military to fire on his own citizens (on U.S. soil), Americans will rise up in such numbers outside of the White House that he might be forced out of office prior to the election. Don’t do it Mr. President,” Willis wrote. “And I ask that you no longer use any of my music at your rallies, especially “Y.M.C.A.” and “Macho Man.” Sorry, but I can no longer look the other way.”
In February, the group issued a statement acknowledging that Trump’s use of ‘Y.M.C.A’ and ‘Macho Man’ was “perfectly legal”. At the time, the group emphasised that the music of the Village People was “all-inclusive.”
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