Overview
- At a rally-style stop in The Villages on Friday, President Trump told supporters that Melania Trump hates when he dances to what he called the gay national anthem and he then did his YMCA routine.
- Trump has long used the Village People hit to close events and he ended more than 110 rallies with the song during his 2024 campaign, according to prior reporting.
- He inaccurately claimed the track’s chart history, as the song peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978 and later hit No. 1 on a Billboard dance digital sales chart in 2024.
- The song’s use has drawn mixed reactions from the band’s orbit, with a 2023 cease-and-desist from the group’s manager followed by an incarnation of the Village People performing at Trump’s 2025 inauguration events.
- Melania Trump previously told Fox News she likes the dance only at certain times, and the song’s ties to gay club culture help explain why its use at partisan rallies remains a cultural flashpoint.