Donald Trump has raised the ire of another musician by using one of their songs in a campaign rally. It’s almost always the case of Trump not listening to the lyrics beyond the title, but the latest is especially out of left field: The Smiths‘ 1984 mope-rock classic “Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want,” which Stereogum notes (by way of political reporter Ben C Jacobs) was played before Trump’s speech at a rally in Laconia, New Hampshire on Monday night. There’s video of it below.
“I never in a million years would’ve thought this could come to pass,” wrote Johnny Marr, co-writer of the song, on Twitter. “Consider this shit shut right down right now.”
No word from the song’s other co-writer, Morrissey — who has aligned himself with far-right political parties in the UK in recent years — or Smiths drummer Mike Joyce. (Bassist Andy Rourke died last year.) Does Trump realize Morrissey also wrote anti-Thatcher song “Margaret on the Guillotine” and “The Queen is Dead”? It does seem possible he sees himself in lyrics like “Let me get what I want / Lord knows, it would be the first time,” though it also seems possible he’s never heard “Please Please Please” ever.
You actually hear the Smiths more often than you'd think at 2024 Trump rallies
⬇️ 9/8/2023 SDGOP rally in Rapid City, South Dakota https://t.co/lNAzNNYMOk pic.twitter.com/891reN3MGR
— Soorin Kim (@SooRinKimm) January 23, 2024
Ahh…right…OK. I never in a million years would’ve thought this could come to pass. Consider this shit shut right down right now. https://t.co/M6eYROedOy
— Johnny Marr (@Johnny_Marr) January 23, 2024