In years past, Elton John and former President Donald Trump weren’t what anyone would call good friends, but they were acquaintances. The beloved pop star played at Trump’s 2005 wedding to Melania Knauss. And when Elton John wed his longtime partner, David Furnish, in a civil ceremony, the future ex-president offered up public congratulations: “If two people dig each other, they dig each other. Good luck Elton. Good luck David. Have a great life.” Trump wrote this in a blog post that has since been removed, The New York Times reports.

But over time, as Trump began his right-wing reach into fascism, John leaned leftward, supporting Democrats by doing things like playing at a fund-raiser for Hillary Clinton. Whatever friendship John shared with Trump began to fray and eventually snap and the singer said he had “fear for the world” if Trump became president.

“He’ll marginalize people,” John said in an interview with the news site Mic in 2016. “He’s already doing it.”

John wasn’t wrong, was he? Soon after Trump was elected, he worked with his administration, aggressively slicing away the rights of people in the LGBTQ community.

“I’m not a Republican in a million years,” John told The Guardian in 2016. He was clearly not pleased about Trump playing his music at rallies.

“Why not use Ted Nugent?” he said of the Trump-loving rocker, coloring his remarks with an expletive.

Even though he spurned Trump during his campaign, the future president kept lacing his campaign appearances with Elton John’s music, which surely must have been grating to the musician. One former Trump campaign official said John was not happy that Trump was using his music at campaign rallies. In fact, the singer was unhappy enough that the Trump campaign was sent a cease-and-desist request in the hopes of stopping the candidate from using Elton John’s music at the rallies. That worked.

For a little while. But the former campaign official said that Trump, who personally oversaw the music playlists for his rallies, gradually reintroduced Tiny Dancer and Rocket Man back into the mix.

Because that’s the kind of man Trump is. To hell with anyone who doesn’t like what he’s doing. That’s how he acts every day.

And after he became President, he used John’s music smack in the middle of what became an extremely volatile geopolitical situation.

I’m referring to the time Trump called North Korean leader Kim Jong-un “Little Rocket Man.” Kim was not particularly thrilled with this appellation so Trump tried to do damage control to try and convince Kim this was a pet name, not an insult. And he did that by directing then-secretary of state Mike Pompeo to personally deliver Elton John’s CD Honky Chateau to the dictator.

“Getting this CD to Kim remained a high priority for Kim for several months, wrote John Bolton, Trump’s former national security advisor, in his memoir.

After Trump was elected president in 2016, one aide said Elton John would play at his inauguration, and Fran Curtis, a longtime publicist for Elton John quickly scuppered that notion in an email to The New York Times. A while later that was followed by a polite email from the singer to Trump declining the gig, but offering to perhaps play at a state dinner at some later date.

“I was honoured to perform at a White House State Dinner for the UK during the Clinton presidency and I would be delighted to do the same for you if the opportunity arises,” John wrote in the email. “I also want to wish you every success with your presidency. I love America deeply, a country that has always welcomed me and my music with kind, tolerant, and open arms.”

But those plans never materialized, said Stephanie Grisham, a former Trump press secretary. According to the NYT, the White House never welcomed Britain to the White House. Grisham added an invitation to John was “definitely never an effort because we knew he wouldn’t,” she said.

It’s a completely different story now that Joe Biden is president, and Elton John was more than happy to play at the White House Friday as a guest of the President and first lady, Dr. Jill Biden.

“I just wish America could be more bipartisan,” John said, sitting at his piano and playing a set that lasted roughly 45 minutes.

John, 75, is currently on a farewell tour in the U.S., and his White House appearance was part of a larger celebration intended to honor people whom the White House called “everyday history makers,” — teachers, nurses, emergency, and mental health workers, students, and activists, per the NYT.

Those who were also honored were Malala Yousafzai; tennis legend and activist Billie Jean King; and Jeanne White-Ginder, who was the mother of Ryan White, a teenager Elton John had befriended, and who ultimately died of AIDS-related causes in 1990.

At one point during the ceremony, Jill Biden introduced her husband as a fan of Elton John and the United States President, in exactly that order.

“On his final tour in Washington, Jill and I invited Elton to the White House to thank him on behalf of the American people,” Biden told the crowd of 2000 people as they gathered on the South Lawn. “Like many Americans, our family loves his music.”

And when Elton John concluded his set, which of course included Tiny Dancer and Rocket Man, the president announced he was awarding the singer the National Humanities Medal, something that is meant to honor those whose work increases American access to cultural experiences in a variety of fields, especially the arts.

“I’m never flabbergasted but I’m flabbergasted,” John told Biden, eyes glistening with tears.

People associated with the planning of the event stressed this has nothing to do with the fact that Biden’s predecessor is very fond of Elton John. They added that the beloved superstar wanted to play at the White House, and they couldn’t help but wonder why everything has to be about Trump?

Still, I bet if the former president has found out about this, which he undoubtedly has, he’s fuming.

I say let him fume.