If there’s one thing President Donald Trump has demonstrated throughout his long and varied career, it’s his ability to reinvent himself. At 78 years old, he’s been a real estate entrepreneur, a casino chain owner, a reality TV star, and a politician. Similarly, Trumpism is difficult to categorize using traditional political frameworks. Perhaps the best illustration of this is seen in the (contradictory) soundtrack that Trump chose for his presidential campaign.
Trump is a prominent figure in the fight against woke culture and DEI policies, and he recently issued an executive order that rejects “gender ideology.” Ironically, he’s turned Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.”–a track long recognized as a symbol of the LGBTQ+ community–into an anthem for Trumpism.
Dancing to “Y.M.C.A.” When considering an anthem to accompany Trump’s return to the White House, you might have expected a country song, an American classic such as “Born in the U.S.A” (with the unlikely permission of Bruce Springsteen), or a hit from artists who have openly supported him.
However, the most unexpected choice was “Y.M.C.A.,” the catchy disco tune popularized by Village People in the late 1970s. In fact, on Sunday night, Trump celebrated his return to the White House to the rhythm of that song. As it happens, it’s now been transformed into a MAGA anthem.
An unlikely decision. Victor Willis is one of the founding members of Village People and is known for his iconic role as a policeman in the “Y.M.C.A.” music video. Willis has been very critical of Trump’s policies. In 2020, he shared a post on Facebook urging the Republican party not to use any of his songs at its rallies, specifically mentioning “Y.M.C.A.” and “Macho Man.” He posted, “Sorry, but I can no longer look the other way.”
“It’s not even an American song.” The Washington Post recently reported that in May 2023, following a video that showed Trump dancing to “Macho Man,” Village People’s manager sent a cease-and-desist letter to Trump’s lawyer.
A few years earlier, in a 2020 Facebook post, Willis opposed Trump’s use of his music, saying, “[Do] Trump and his supporters think that the American people would be so stupid as to put him back in office again (2024) to suffer his tactics once again? I don’t think so. And I’d never allow his use of “Y.M.C.A.” the second time around without a major legal fight.”
The families of the group’s key creators, producers Jacques Morali and Henri Belolo, also seem uncomfortable with Trump appropriating “Y.M.C.A.” They said, “It’s not even an American song. It’s a French song.” The song was composed by Morali, a French songwriter who passed away in 1991, along with Willis.
What else makes it an improbable choice? Village People’s initial reservations about the song’s use at MAGA rallies aren’t even the main reason why “Y.M.C.A.” seems, at first glance, an unlikely soundtrack to Trump’s campaigns.
“Y.M.C.A.” isn’t just another Village People song or a catchy hit from the 1970s. For decades, it’s been associated with the gay community and seen as an LGTBQ+ anthem. This association makes it particularly shocking to hear it played at the events of a conservative leader who, upon returning to the White House, said, “There are only two genders: male and female.”
Reinterpreting a classic. Not only has the use of “Y.M.C.A.” changed, but so has Willis, who is now more willing than ever to have his compositions played at Trump’s political events. Moreover, the interpretation of the song itself has shifted. After decades of being recognized as a gay anthem, the artist now argues against that.
“There’s been a lot of talk, especially of late, that ‘Y.M.C.A.’ is somehow a gay anthem. As I’ve said numerous times in the past, that is a false assumption based on the fact that my writing partner was gay, and some (not all) of Village People were gay, and that the first Village People album was totally about gay life,” Willis shared on Facebook in December.
To clarify any remaining doubts, Willis added, “Since I wrote the lyrics and ought to know what the lyrics I wrote [are] really about, come January 2025, my wife will start suing each and every news organization that falsely refers to ‘Y.M.C.A.,’ either in their headlines or alluded to in the base of the story, that ‘Y.M.C.A.’ is somehow a gay anthem.”
From records to rallies. Willis’ messages from 2020 or the meaning “Y.M.C.A.” has had over the last 50 years don’t matter. In 2025, the song has become part of the Trumpist imagination. It’s frequently played at rallies, and the president dances to it at his events (albeit in a rather unusual manner).
The song has gained iconic status within the MAGA movement. On Sunday, it was featured during the inauguration ceremony when the group performed live at the Capital One Arena. However, “Y.M.C.A.” wasn’t the only song on the lineup.
Walking it back. Willis previously called for the song not to be politicized and even threatened legal action to separate “Y.M.C.A.” from Trump events. Ironically, he seems to have no objections now that the song is being performed at gatherings where the MAGA slogan is chanted.
He shared on his Facebook account, “Our performances are not an endorsement of the president-elect’s policies no matter what you say to the contrary. Having said that, we do support that we have a new president now and we should all wish him well until he gives us a reason not to.”
“The sad truth.” “We believe that music should be shared across political spectrum and not preserved for one political side. But here’s the sad truth, if our preferred candidate (Kamala Harris) had won, Village People would never have been invited to perform at her inauguration. She would have chosen the likes of John Legend and Beyonce, etc.,” Willis added in his post.
“Finally, it wasn’t the LGBTQ community that made ‘Y.M.C.A.’ great again by pushing the song to #1 for 5 weeks on a Billboard Chart. FIVE WEEKS AT NUMBER 1,” he said. Interestingly, this resurgence, 46 years after its initial release, has translated into significant revenue for the artist himself.
The big question. Among the vast catalog of songs available to Trump, why does he seem to have a special affinity for “Y.M.C.A.”? The Village People’s song isn’t the only one featured on a soundtrack that also includes Kid Rock and Lee Greenwood. However, why choose a song from 1978 that has long been associated with the gay community, regardless of what Willis thinks?
No definitive answers. There’s just speculation at this point. Some suggest that in 2020, “Y.M.C.A.” became popular at anti-lockdown rallies, where the song was even remixed to MAGA. Another theory says that the 1970s disco hit aligns well with the atmosphere at Trump’s rallies.
There’s even a third, simpler hypothesis based on a straightforward fact. The president is 78, so when “Y.M.C.A.” was released, he was a 32-year-old wealthy and ambitious young man with a promising future. His election may have included an element of nostalgia, which fits into the complex Trumpist formula that helped propel him to the White House.
Image | Matt Johnson
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