What began as a town hall with Donald Trump turned into a bizarre spectacle, as the former president hosted a 30-minute listening party featuring songs from artists who have previously threatened him with legal action.
The town hall in Oaks, Pennsylvania on Monday night was repeatedly interrupted by medical emergencies, reportedly due to warm temperatures inside of the venue. Rather than continue to answer questions, Trump decided to instead play songs from his personal playlist, including Rufus Wainwright’s version of “Hallelujah,” Sinead O’Connor’s version of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” Oliver Anthony’s “Rich Men North of Richmond,” Guns N’ Roses’ “November Rain,” and James Brown’s “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World.”
Also played were “Ave Maria,” “Memory” from the musical Cats, Elvis Presley’s “An American Trilogy,” Andrea Bocelli’s “Time to Say Goodbye,” and the Trump rally staple “YMCA.” As seen in clips posted to social media, Trump seemed to thoroughly enjoy the moment, as he bobbed his head, danced, and mouthed along to several song lyrics.
It is worth noting that several of the songs played were done so against the wishes of the artists behind them. Sinead O’Connor’s estate previously hit Trump’s campaign with a cease and desist in March, saying at the time that it would be “no exaggeration to say that Sinéad would have been disgusted, hurt and insulted to have her work misrepresented in this way.” Meanwhile, Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose has repeatedly lashed out against Trump on social media.
We’re still here and so is most of the crowd. A question has not been asked in more than a half hour.
Now Trump is notably playing a music video of Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares to you.” O’Connor’s estate asked Trump to stop playing her music at his rallies. She once… pic.twitter.com/WtVn3grFHP
— Bryan Llenas (@BryanLlenas) October 15, 2024
Trump holds a town hall and instead of answering questions he stands on stage with weird music playing.
So cringe!!!pic.twitter.com/kh7hskXxpu
— Morgan J. Freeman (@mjfree) October 15, 2024
Wow — this was weird. Trump wrapped up his “town hall” in Oaks, Pennsylvania, after just a few questions, and right after he said he would take a few more questions. More music then played while Trump stood around on stage. Deeply bizarre scenes. pic.twitter.com/C3SJpsQagV
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 15, 2024
Guns N’ Roses is playing now. Can’t make it up. Trump is still standing around. pic.twitter.com/RzDia7dCk8
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 15, 2024
