Overview
- At The Villages in Florida on Friday, President Trump told supporters that Melania Trump hates when he dances to the Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.,” which he called the “gay national anthem,” and he performed the routine as he left the stage.
- Trump said his dancing helped push the song to No. 1 for months, but Billboard records show it peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100 in 1979 and later led the Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales chart for weeks in late 2024.
- “Y.M.C.A.” has become a fixture of Trump’s political brand, with ABC News reporting he closed more than 110 rallies with the track during the 2024 campaign.
- Village People founder Victor Willis first tried to halt the song’s use with a 2023 cease-and-desist, then let it continue under the campaign’s BMI license and joined an iteration of the group that performed at Trump’s 2025 inauguration events.
- The track’s long link to gay culture fuels its symbolism at Trump events, even as Willis disputes sexual interpretations of the lyrics and some fans and LGBTQ audiences criticize the band’s appearances with the president.