Donald Trump’s failure of a presidency ends with a song that’s definitely not about gay sex. Honest
In his last appearance as commander in chief, the now-former US president Donald Trump left Washington Wednesday morning (20 January) and flew to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland all to the tune of “Gloria” – and the gays were not impressed.
It was a muted and almost anticlimactic end to the turbulent Trump presidency – a quiet goodbye that contrasted with his own inauguration day, a rain-soaked event where he promised a new era of polarising, populist politics.
In the end, Trump strolled along the White House lawn as he opted to skip president-to-be Joe Biden‘s swearing-in ceremony in his one final shot at smashing a presidential norm.
Landing at the military facility used by presidents, Trump’s team blasted the Laura Branigan banger before he delivered his final speech as president. Reporters said the song was played at such a striking decibel level from the tannoy they could barely hear anything above it – a great day to have ears, no doubt.
Laura Branigan's Gloria playing at a deafening volume as Marine One carrying Trump lands, drowning out all the reporters trying to talk deliver their lives is a fitting end to this four year long fever dream.
— David Wyllie (@journodave) January 20, 2021
Donald Trump ends his blisteringly combative presidency with ‘Gloria’ and ‘YMCA’ because of course
“Gloria”, a song about a woman struggling with loneliness and love, has been a staple of Trump’s leadership events. But video footage of Trump and his inner circle dancing to the 1980s queer banger moments before violent insurrections tore through the Capitol earlier this month enraged Branigan’s legacy manager.
“No permission to use ‘Gloria’, nor endorsement of him, past or present, was granted to Trump on behalf of Laura or her legacy management company,” she tweeted.
Twitter users were also taken aback at the absolutely bizarre scene of watching the outgoing president land on a military base to “Gloria”, a song you’ve probably sloppily danced to in a sticky gay club at 3am.
"How can we make the last days of Trump even more surreal?"
"Have it soundtracked by Laura Branigan singing 'Gloria'."— Nick Pettigrew (@Nick_Pettigrew) January 20, 2021
Is…is Trump flying into Andrews Air Force base to the tune of 'Gloria' by Laura Branigan… 😂😂— Jack D 🏳️🌈 (@JackDunc1) January 20, 2021
Trump’s helicopter landing while GLORIA is playing is a fucking hate crime #TrumpsLastDay— Chris Jones (@ChrisJonesGeek) January 20, 2021
https://twitter.com/Alser82/status/1351885429142925316
https://twitter.com/westratenick/status/1351888985308753920
But the strange saga didn’t end. After he landed, Trump thanked the relatively small, maskless crowd of supporters before boarding Air Force One for the final time. “Have a good life,” he said, urging those in attendance to “remember” him: “We were not a regular administration.
“We will be back in some form.”
Boarding Air Force One in a flight to Florida, “YMCA” by the Village People blared over the speakers – often used by Trump to bookend his speeches – proving that truly nothing is sacred anymore and LGBT+ people cannot have anything nice. Nope, nothing.
Always the showman, much of Trump’s campaigning playlist has been defined by combative, self-congratulatory songs – but more often than not, they’re pretty, er, gay.
Whether that be playing Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind” or Queen’s “Under Pressure”, Trump has long defaulted in both his 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns songs by queer artists or considered tracks considered to be LGBT+ anthems.
The real estate developer-turned-reality television star even capped off his second presidential bid with a truly cursed mega-mix video of himself dancing to “YMCA” across several rallies, agitating the Village People, whose legal team have for years warned Trump’s team not to play their music at events.
All in all, despite the pleas of the Village People and Branigan, Trump signed off as the 45th president doing what he does best – ticking people off.