The musical choices of Donald Trump’s handlers run the gamut these days, as the aging felon grasps at any cultural reference that will make him seem “hip.”
And the music is often counterintuitive — who could have foreseen that the venomously anti-LGBTQ candidate would pump up his rallies to the tune of “Y.M.C.A.” by the Village People? Or that the campaign would provide it’s own elegy with the wildly unlikely “My Heart Will Go On,” Celine Dion’s tearjerker from…Titanic? As the AP’s Maria Sherman reported recently, Dion’s social media team immediately responded that “In no way is this use authorized, and Celine Dion does not endorse this or any similar use,” then added, “…And really, THAT song?”
Sherman goes on to detail a whole stack of such artists who, like Dion, were blindsided by the use of their music at rallies for Trump as early as 2020, including Bruce Springsteen, Rihanna, Phil Collins, Pharrell, John Fogerty, Neil Young, Eddy Grant, Panic! at the Disco, R.E.M., Guns N’ Roses, and the Rolling Stones.
You can also add some Stax to the stack.
On March 5th, the X account for Isaac Hayes Enterprises posted, “The estate and family of Isaac Hayes DID NOT approve the use of ‘Hold on I’m coming’ written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter by Donald Trump tonight at his Super Tuesday rally. We and our partners at @primarywave will be taking steps to stop the unauthorized use of this song.”
It seems they were ignored. This month they upped the ante when, on August 10th, Isaac Hayes III, son of the Stax artist, posted:
The next day, the X account representing Isaac Hayes Enterprises posted the following:
This August 20th, on what would have been the 82nd birthday of “Black Moses,” the Memphis Flyer is happy to report that even from beyond, Hayes continues to be a baaaad mother…but I’m talking ’bout Isaac! Meanwhile, what of the song’s co-writer, David Porter, now CEO of Made in Memphis Entertainment? Sherman’s article also hints at what Porter thinks of Trump, noting that in 2022, after learning that Trump used “Hold On, I’m Coming” at an NRA rally, he tweeted “Hell to the NO!”