Eyebrows raised as ‘Macho Man’ Trump uses Village People gay anthem at rally
- Trump campaign’s song choices – including the hit Macho Man from the Village People – baffles many
- Group’s only original member asks Trump campaign to no longer use their music at rallies
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, Nevada.
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 re-election 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 Manhattan’s 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.