From being considered an anthem of the LGTBI community to an anthem of Donald Trump, this is how it has been resignified YMCA, the Village People song that the president of the United States danced to this Sunday with the band on the eve of his inauguration. The Republican filled the Capital One Arena in Washington as an appetizer for what will be his return to the White House: “The curtain falls on four long years of American decline,” he said. The group shared the stage with the politician, wearing their emblematic cowboy, worker, motorcyclist and indigenous chief costumes.
Music had its particular role in Trump’s campaign events, provoking the rejection of artists such as Rufus Wainwright, Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen; but at the same time the support of those who joined them, even acting directly at their events. The last one was held this weekend, where the band performed their iconic hit from 1978 YMCAwhose acronym refers to Young Men’s Christian Association, an ancient Christian association, which provided temporary accommodation for young men.
Its lyrics referred to a place where you could stay and “find many ways to have a good time,” “enjoy,” “spend time with all the kids,” and even “make your dreams come true.” Since its publication, the catchy song was embraced for decades by gay culture, who adopted its message – in a context where being openly homosexual was not socially accepted – as an invitation to a space in which they could be themselves and enjoy the company of other men. Their legendary choreography, which they incorporated into a television performance in 1979, culminated their impact, causing very few to resist dancing when it plays at any nightclub, wedding or festival ever since.
Being considered a vindication of inclusion, community support and the gay community – although one of its composers, Víctor Willis, has denied this – many were surprised when Trump decided to adopt it in his interventions in 2020. And he not only likes it. this group theme, male man is another of his hits favorites.
Although they now cover his rallies even offering to perform at them directly, Trump has not always been well received in the group. In addition to having asked in 2020 to stop ringing YMCA At his events, the singer of the group Victor Willis even called him a “dictator” on his social networks, for not accepting Joe Biden’s victory in the elections at that time.
A “stupid town” for voting for Trump
YMCA., which was composed by French producer Jacques Morali and the aforementioned Victor Willis, was certified in March 2020 as “culturally significant, historically or aesthetically” in the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress of the United States. A month later, it became the soundtrack of the demonstrations against confinement during the pandemic. In them, some attendees directly changed their handwriting YMCA by MAGA –referring to Trump’s motto ‘Make America Great Again’–.
A perfect move for the politician, who opted to include it in his official acts. This anthem fit within the type of ‘spectacles’ that his campaign events have been turning into, as if they were concerts or major sporting events. In this case, adding a well-known, intergenerational song with ‘good press’ thanks to its association with the LGTBIQ collective. Its use did not go unnoticed by Village People who, according to Victor Willis, stated in an interview in the BBC: “I have never nor have we supported Trump. “We have asked him to stop using our music in his events.”
Asked what response they would give if they were invited by Trump to his inauguration if he had won those elections, the answer was: “Probably not. “I don’t know, I doubt it.” Joe Biden won the elections against the Republican, a candidate for whom Willis had publicly shown his support, including signs of rejection of his opponent at the polls.
“I kept an open mind about Trump and tried to be fair even knowing that since I am a conservative (Democrat), I could never vote for him. Now, do Trump and his followers think the American people could be stupid enough to put him back in office in 2024 to suffer his tactics once again? “I don’t think so,” he wrote on his Facebook account in November 2020, sharing the news that the Republican wanted to announce his candidacy for the 2024 elections.
“I would never allow him to use YMCA. for the second time without going through a major legal fight,” he added before launching one last, forceful message: “You should be kind and accept defeat like every other US president since George Washington, and stop acting like a dictator trying to cling to power with false accusations of electoral fraud.”
The money generated by his anthem thanks to his interventions in Trump’s campaign in 2024 motivated the singer to change his mind, four years later. In December of last year, Willis stated on his social networks that, thanks to Trump’s use of YMCA. “the economic benefits” had been “great”: “It is estimated that YMCA has raised several million dollars since the president-elect continued using the song. Therefore, I am glad that I allowed him to continue using it.”
Already in January, Willis himself announced on his Facebook account the concert that the group would give at Trump’s victory rally held this Sunday. “If anyone thinks that Village People won’t give the best performance of our careers, for political reasons, think again,” he wrote. He also took the opportunity to insist that the group “would act for both Democrats and Republicans.” “We are not a political band, we never have been, and we never will be no matter how much they try to make us seem that way,” he concluded.
“It was not the LGTBIQ community that raised YMCA to number one”
In a new publication, expanding the explanations about his participation in the event, he described it as “sad truth” that, if his “favorite candidate, Kamala Harris, had won, Village People would never have been invited to perform at his inauguration. I would have chosen artists like Beyoncé, John Legend, etc.” “But now that Trump has been elected, are we supposed to follow the rules and decline the invitation? How does it benefit us? It doesn’t. “It’s just hate from a political perspective,” he tried to justify.
In addition, he invited us to “give the president a chance,” “regardless of what we thought about him in the past.” “Let’s see how it moves forward, and if it does anything to restrict LGTBIQ rights, the Village People will be the first to speak, but you can’t transfer your rights issues onto the shoulders of the Village People.”
The singer finished praising Trump’s positive influence on his coffers, thanking him for being responsible for raising his song to first place for five weeks on the Billboard list of digital sales of dance and electronic music.
“It was not the LGTBIQ community that made YMCA again, not even the African-American community,” he argued, “it is a man who has done a lot for the Village People lately, Donald Trump. He has brought much joy to the American people with his use of the song. And you want the Village People to put all that aside and not perform at their inauguration? Negative!”. “We are doing the right thing by acting and keeping political options out of this,” he concluded.
It is not the first time that the band has tried to disassociate the idea that the song had been conceived for the LGTBIQ+ audience. Willis clarified in an interview with Europa Press in 2023 that they did not compose or YMCA. nor the rest of his songs “so that they would only be accepted by gay or straight people.” “Our music generates an energy that different people appreciate,” he added. He also defended that they did not want to be aligned with any ideological line: “Our music does not support the democratic or liberal party, but if one or the other likes it, well, we do not want to become politicized.”
The singer repeated the same argument last December, responding to criticism from those who did not support the intervention of YMCA. in the Trump campaign, and directly stating that “the song is not a gay anthem.” “It’s a false assumption based on the fact that my songwriting partner was gay, that some (not all) of the Village People were gay, and that our first album was entirely about gay life,” he justified, later noting: “No. I care that gays think of the song as their anthem.”
In the same publication he warned that starting in January 2025, his partner was going to “sue each and every news agency that falsely referred to the YMCA, whether in the headlines or in their development of the story.” ”. A week later, he softened his speech by stating that there had been a “misunderstanding”: “I have never threatened to sue anyone who says that YMCA is a gay anthem (…), only to sue the media that report that it is”.
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