Donald Trump Played Queen Song Without Permission At RNC

Before the Cavaliers defeated Golden State in the NBA Finals, Cleveland was best known for two things: misery and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Those two powerful forces combined last night, when Donald Trump, looking for all the world like an off-brand Cheeto that’s been left out in the sun for too long, entered the Republican National Convention to “We Are the Champions” by Queen, who were inducted into the Rock Hall in 2001. His song selection has caused a bit of controversy, considering guitarist Brian May previously renounced Trump’s use of the 1977 classic from News of the World.

“I’ve had an avalanche of complaints — some of which you can see in our ‘Letters’ page — about Donald Trump using our ‘We Are the Champions’ track as his ‘theme’ song… This is not an official Queen statement, but I can confirm that permission to use the track was neither sought nor given. We are taking advice on what steps we can take to ensure this use does not continue. Regardless of our views on Mr. Trump’s platform, it has always been against our policy to allow Queen music to be used as a political campaigning tool.” (Via)

May isn’t the only musician who’s told Trump to f*ck off — Michael Stipe literally told Rudy Giuliani’s biggest crush and his followers to “go f*ck yourselves, the lot of you — you sad, attention-grabbing, power-hungry little men… Do not use our music or my voice for your moronic charade of a campaign.” At this point, the only songs Trump can use without protest are anything by Ted Nugent and the Joanie Loves Chachi theme. It’s especially disconcerting that Trump used “We Are the Champions,” though, considering his spotty, at best, history with LGBT rights. Here’s what California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom had to say on Facebook:

It’s important to note that tonight’s RNC convention ended with a song, We Are the Champions, sung by a gay man, Freddie Mercury. Freddie Mercury died of AIDS in 1991. His music was played at a convention where the most anti-LGBT policy platform was adopted, just today. His music, which he famously labored over, which was intricate and complex, was played at a convention where Mike Pence, a man who has spent his political career actively looking for opportunities to pass laws that would give others the legal framework to discriminate against LGBT people, sat comfortably in a VIP box. I’m not sure what Freddie Mercury would think of his music being played at the RNC convention, but I do know that if he weren’t a famous rockstar, he would have probably been greeted by a wall, a really high wall, because he represented everything that Mike Pence and Donald Trump are scared of. (Via)

Trump was equally roasted on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/TheFix/status/755226642356862977

Also Trump coming out to We Are The Champions – Freddie was rolling in his grave.

— Lauren ⚽️ 🐓 (@geekiliciousme) July 19, 2016

https://twitter.com/Shakestweetz/status/755226708232531975

https://twitter.com/DrGMLaTulippe/status/755262857055395841

So let me get this straight: Trump comes out to Queen, Freddie Mercury died of AIDS, and Pence did this. #RNCinCLE pic.twitter.com/kTZVoKaT1v

— Marlow Stern (@MarlowNYC) July 19, 2016

I can't see Queen giving Trump permission for that entrance. Nor, can I see dry ice giving permission for that entrance.

— Jill Kushner (@TheJillKushner) July 19, 2016

Trump walks on stage to "We Are The Champions" by Queen, which Brian May asked his campaign to stop using.

— JimA (@JimArkedis) July 19, 2016

So… Donald Trump walks on to Queen's "We Are the Champions." Poor Freddie.

— Dan Savage (@fakedansavage) July 19, 2016

It's what Freddie Mercury would have wanted – to be dead rather than see this happen to his music. https://t.co/MKEqG3QidX via @YouTube

— Matthew J Elliott (@MatthewJElliot1) July 19, 2016