On Saturday evening, a crowd of Donald Trump enthusiasts wearing MAGA hats and T-shirts but no masks to prevent the spread of coronavirus, rushed to get a spot up close to the president at his rally in Minden, Nev.
To raise these supporters’ spirits, the campaign had “Macho Man” pulsating across an airport tarmac where the rally took place. Trump’s choice to hold a non-social-distancing rally for a crowd of 5,000, after Nevada officials banned gatherings of more than 50, was one reason the reelection event raised questions.
But so, too, did the campaign’s use of “Macho Man,” mostly because it’s known as a gay anthem by the Village People.
The 1978 hit single comes from a group that was created by two French producers, who saw huge potential in marketing music to gay men, including Black and Latino men, who enjoyed a sense of liberation in a post-Stonewall era by openly meeting up at gay clubs in Greenwich Village and in gay meccas such as San Francisco.
The result was the campy pop-culture phenomenon known as the Village People, whose members donned costumes that poked fun at stereotypical “macho” male stereotypes, including a police officer, a construction worker and a cowboy. The Village People also released other singles, including “YMCA,” that became mainstream hits.
Vice writer Matthew Hays and other writers noted the irony in the Trump campaign playing “Macho Man” and other Village People singles at its rallies. The Republican Party and the Trump administration have demonstrated hostility toward LGBTQ issues, including the administration’s ban on transgender people in the military.
Still, the Village People was initially “laissez-faire” about allowing the Trump campaign to use its music at rallies, Vanity Fair reported. Fans, however, began complaining to the Village People after the president played “Macho Man” to introduce him at a rally in India.
In a Facebook post earlier this year, the Village People said it didn’t appear that Trump was using its music in a way that suggested an endorsement. The group also said the president and his supporters have shown themselves to have “a genuine like for our music,” which is “all-inclusive.”
“I ask that you no longer use any of my music at your rallies especially ‘Y.M.C.A.’ and ‘Macho Man,’ ” Victor Willis, the group’s original lead vocalist and only original member still with the group, said in a Facebook post in June. “Sorry, but I can no longer look the other way.”
