Overview
- Reporters aboard Air Force One said that on Sept. 13 the president’s aides asked if they wanted to hear a track list and a large Bluetooth speaker played songs from a file labeled “APPROVED RALLY PLAYLIST.”
- Journalists who posted about the flight listed an eclectic set that included Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me,” The Undertaker’s WWE entrance music, The Who’s “Baba O’Riley,” R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion,” Pavarotti’s “Nessun Dorma,” ABBA’s “Fernando,” and Guns N’ Roses’ “November Rain.”
- Mr. Trump later came to the press cabin, said he had picked the songs himself and told reporters he wanted to “make you happy,” noting that the playlist featured “a lot of Dolly songs” and praising Parton following her recent death.
- The episode was documented by the White House press pool and multiple reporters who shared details on X, and coverage treats the moment as an optics-focused anecd rather than a policy action.
- The selection echoes a longer pattern of Trump controlling music at rallies and Mar‑a‑Lago and recalls past disputes in which some artists or rights holders have objected to use of their work at his events, though no new legal action has been reported in connection with this flight.