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Trump Humiliated After Being Forced to Attend Emergency Hearing to Stop Him From Using Song He STOLE at His Rallies

Yet another artist who wants nothing to do with Trump.

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Donald Trump has always thought it was easier to ask forgiveness than ask permission when it comes to what music he plays at his events. Of course, he always conveniently forgets the forgiveness part too.

But it’s not like he doesn’t know that almost nobody wants him using their music. He’s been sued, given cease and desist order, even publicly humiliated by some of the biggest names in the world. That has yet to stop him from just taking what he wants.

And that’s what it is, really, when he uses music for his own purposes without permission: Theft.

Think of Donald Trump as the guy with the big pickup that has a sticker of Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes peeing on whatever thing the truck owner hates. Maybe it’s Fords or Chevys, maybe it’s the Democratic governor of their state, or maybe it’s the flag of another country.

The author of that cartoon never licensed the characters in it for commercial use. Every one of those stickers you see is somebody stealing from Bill Watterson, the comic’s creator.

It’s the same with music. Way back when Reagan was running for president and he tried to use Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” as his campaign song, he got shut down. They tried to cover it up by saying he didn’t realize until too late that the song didn’t mean just what the four words in the title say.

But the real reason was that Bruce couldn’t stand Reagan’s politics. Or any Republican. MOST creative types lean to the left, because the right is always trying to censor them.

It’s worse for Trump. People don’t want him using their music because they don’t want to be associated with him as a person.

So when he started using Isaac Hayes’ timeless song “Hold On, I’m Coming,” the late singer’s estate was more than a bit miffed. Trump has been blasting the song at rallies as though desperate Americans just can’t wait to see him back in office. But Hayes’ son is definitely not.

After a feisty legal tussle over copyright infringement, Isaac Hayes III announced “The Federal Court has granted our request for an Emergency Hearing to secure injunctive relief. Donald Trump, the RNC, Trump, Trump for President Inc. 2024, Turning Point and The NRA are required to appear in court September 3rd, 2024 at the Northern U.S. District Federal Court in Atlanta. See you in court.”

The Hayes estate had asked Trump to stop using the song multiple times before mounting a legal effort against him and his allies.

That means that Trump not only knew what he was doing was wrong and against the wishes of the copyright holder, but he also just didn’t give a crap what anyone thought about it.

So why is it going to court?

Hayes (III) didn’t just tell Trump to knock it off. He filed suit to punish Trump, and exact payment from him for the damage he’d already done to his father’s reputation. That’s the NICEST thing he could have done, after telling Trump for almost 3 years straight to stop using the song.

There’s $3 million in licensing fees on the line here.

And Isaac Hayes isn’t the only artist proverbially rolling in their grave. Some of them are still alive. The Rolling Stones, Adele, Steven Tyler, Rihanna, and others have all blasted the GOP candidate over this issue.

And he just keeps doing it. Not just new instances of it. He keeps using the stuff he’s been specifically already told not to use. he absolutely doesn’t care.

It doesn’t end, either. Just this weekend, when former coke dealer and serial philanderer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed Trump, the campaign decided to fanfare his entry to the stage with “My Hero” by the Foo Fighters.

Dave Grohl and the Foos are taking “appropriate action.”

Trump is never going to learn his lesson and just ask people for their permission before using their art to promote himself. But at least maybe it will hurt a little more in the future if he has to change the lyrics to “Hold on, I’m coming, right after I go to the ATM to grab three million bucks for these guys I stole a song from.”

Andrew Simpson
meet the author

Andrew is a dark blue speck in deep red Central Washington, writing with the conviction of 18 years at the keyboard and too much politics to even stand. When not furiously stabbing the keys on breaking news stories, he writes poetry, prose, essays, haiku, lectures, stories for grief therapy, wedding ceremonies, detailed instructions on making doughnuts from canned biscuit dough (more sugar than cinnamon — duh), and equations to determine the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow. A girlfriend, a dog, two cats, and two birds round out the equation, and in his spare time, Drewbear likes to imagine what it must be like to have spare time.

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