I've Just Realized

The President doesn't understand music.

There. It felt very good to write that; it's some thing I just realized today.

Oh , yes; he plays it. He TRUMPets it in rallies and meetings, pumps it across the airwaves when he gathers up our minutes waiting for his late arrival.

But he doesn't understand it.

His response to the Super Bowl halftime performance brought that into sharp focus for me and explains so so so so much!

Consider the evidence:

1) He plays 'Fortunate Son' like it's an affirmation, going so far as to use it over a video of the bombing of Venezuela as one of the most recent airings. He plays the song, by Creedence Clearwater Revival even though he has been serves Cease and desist papers, even though it is an anti-war song, even though it's a song against the draft (which he avoided due to miraculously disappearing bone spurs).

2) The least disco-d version of YMCA ever, and his weird 'Milk the Cow/Dry off With a Towel' dance.

This odd obsession with the song first appeared in 2018 (40 years after it was written) although it certainly feels like it has always been there, doesn't it? The weird little dance, the odd tight lipped smile, half-closed eyes.

When it first came out (double entendre intended) it was pegged (ditto) by those in the know as a gay anthem referring to a young man learning all of the new experiences within the men's only housing of the YMCA. It was performed by the Village People, dressed in the costumes of gay stereotypes. It is very likely the song was played often at the parties, discos, nightclubs, and gatherings Trump attended in the 70's and 80's.

I need to stop here are explain that the YMCA and YWCA used to rent affordable rooms, and actually many of them still do. These dorm-style rooms shared a bathroom and were part of the construction of each location. Rent was one of the ways the buildings paid their bills.

Playing it, ad nauseum while he does that weird little dance, came about when Trump announced the new US-Mexica-Canada trade deal in 2018. "USMCA, like the YMCA" . This agreement is still in place (although greatly strained by tariffs), and comes up for renegotiation in July 2026.

I wonder if some of the charm comes from the repeated 'young man', sung emphatically throughout the song. The Trump campaign actively relied on outreach during the recent campaign, and also relies on 'influencers' that work to convince young men that they are ignored, disrespected, and have no hope but MAGA.

The actual history of the song, the stereotypes, the irony of instigating an arena of homophobic white christian nationalists to contort their body into capitol letters while belting out a sly gay anthem is up to the viewer to appreciate. Trump is either unaware, doesn't care, or both. It looks like a reminder of his glory days.

3) Which brings me to Springsteen and Born in the USA. Told from the point of view of a Vietnam soldier returning home to face mistreatment, scorn, and abandonment. That a draft dodging wanna-be that doesn't understand the correct times/who to salute; this is a puzzling slap in the face.

Trump used Bruce's song in 2016 as a weapon against Ted Cruz. Cruz was born in Canada to an American mother and a Cuban father. Like many decisions, Trump ignores the words that don't fit the narrative of this 80's hit and revels in the pounding refrain ignoring the irony.

Bruce Springsteen called the music out as unauthorized then subsequently endorse the Harris/Walz campaign.

(Cannot forget to include The Boss's protest anthem that was recently released: Streets of Minneapolis. It is NOT likely to be used in Trump rallies...)

Many other artists have issued statements on the unauthorized use of their songs. Spinal Tap, Sabrina Carpenter, The Rolling Stones, Celine Dion, Adele, the family of Tom Petty, and much more: they responded to Trump's usual do it without asking approach to appropriate things that isn't his with clear rebuttals.

The Halftime Show

Much hype, anti-hype, faked-hype, and just plain anticipation prior to the Super Bowl brought the supporters, the haters, and the let's-give-it-a-chancers out of the woodwork and into the foray. There was even a 'christian' alternate version featuring the quintessential choir-boy of wholesomeness: Mr. Kid Rock. (Yes- that did sting to type that description).

I was eager to watch the mini-concert, especially as I both enjoyed and learned from the 2025 Kendrick Lamar halftime show. I was not disappointed.

Just as I've listened to years of Andrea Bocelli without speaking a lick of Italian, have attended instrumental events where no words are spoken at all, enjoyed opera where the soaring trills eclipse all words, and watched football without understanding all the rules; I took in the performance, art, and the statement Bad Bunny had prepared.

Words are not needed to appreciate art, to appreciate passion, family, history, struggle, community, culture, persistence, happiness, healing, tragedy, pride, and love. This was, like opera, a story told accompanied by music. I am positive that I will continue to learn about the nuances I missed because I am not familiar with the Puerto Rico culture and have missed what is obvious to others.

During the performance I saw:

• families
• dance
• music
• Struggle
• community
• reminder of the electrical failures that the government ignores
• compassion
• pride
• talent

Before the Super Bowl I took the time to learn about the declaration of Puerto Rican as citizens, made just in time to draft them to fight World War 1.

I learned of the U.S. sterilization program in Puerto Rico (from the 1930s to 1970s!) where over 34% of Puerto Rican women were sterilized, and many more used as test subjects for contraceptive pills without their consent. Done to please the owners of factories that employed women (now they won't need maternity leave), and to reduce the population in an attempt to stave off migration to the mainland.

If that sounds familiar to you, refer to many of the talking points in the present US administration and their 'worries' of the Great/White Replacement Theory, a distinctly far-right infection that has spread across the globe.

The American President either doesn't know these things, or he doesn't care about it. He didn't see what I saw. He didn't feel what I felt. This was his response:

Perhaps, instead of posting racist memes, bombing boats, and funneling funds; the leader of the United States could learn about a place that is part of the country he (loosely) leads... one that cannot vote for a President as they have been deemed a territory, not a state. Therefore they can vote as delegates in the National Convention to choose a candidate, but that is where their voices are stilled. Their thoughts are silenced.

But yesterday? Even if the President didn't 'understand a word'; we heard the message.

The Only Thing Greater than Hate is Love