Generally, when you read a story about a musician who’s upset that Trump has been using their songs at his rallies, the story is more about the theft of their music or his use without their permission. And honestly, those are fair points to make — Trump clearly doesn’t think he even needs permission, as there are multiple artists who have told him to stop that he has simply ignored.
Elton John, Aerosmith, Neil Young, R.E.M., The Rolling Stones, Adele, and even Prince make up a veritable jukebox of Top 40 artists who have all been played by this President at his rallies and events, and all of them have told him to knock it off.
Of course, then there is the argument that he shouldn’t be using the music because it’s counter to what he’s saying — like the plethora of Republicans who have tried and tried over the years to appropriate Bruce Springsteen’s classic “Born In The USA” because it sounds patriotic without ever realizing it’s a harsh anti-war anthem written by a working-class lefty who couldn’t have been more clear in the lyrics, that they apparently don’t listen to past the chorus.
But there’s a new victim of Trump’s thoughtless copyright infringement spree, and she is pissed — and not because he’s costing her download money.
The White House Bureau Chief for the Washington Post, Philip Rucker, tweeted on Sunday afternoon about the kind of feeling one gets inside a Trump rally, describing it almost like a sporting event:
It’s been said a million times, but here’s a million and one — Trump’s rallies are unlike anything else in politics. Currently, Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop the Music” is blaring in Chattanooga as aides toss free Trump T-shirts into the crowd, like a ball game. Everyone’s loving it.
— Philip Rucker (@PhilipRucker) November 4, 2018
Uh, no, Phil. Not everyone loves it.
Not for much longer…me nor my people would ever be at or around one of those tragic rallies, so thanks for the heads up philip! https://t.co/dRgRi06GrJ
— Rihanna (@rihanna) November 5, 2018
“Tragic” is one of those words that can change meaning as you use it in different contexts, but I rarely see the intent of a word swing so hard from favorable to unfavorable. I’m not sure there’s a better word for Trump or his rallies or the people who attend them, so kudos to Rihanna for penning yet another hit (that she should probably just go ahead and put on her next record).
Featured image via screen capture
