Trump, 80, Turns Death Tribute Into Weird Brag About Himself

Politics admin July 1, 2026 0 Comments

Trump, 80, Turns Death Tribute Into Weird Brag About Himself

President Donald Trump has paid his usual self-absorbed tribute to a late ally.

Village People singer Victor Willis died on Tuesday, just a day before his 75th birthday, his family and management revealed on Wednesday morning. Trump, 80, wasted no time making it all about himself and the smash hit, “Y.M.C.A.”, which he has commandeered for his political movement.

“He was a great and happy guy who loved that I used his groups song, YMCA, at my Rallies,” he said, with a grammatical error in the word “groups,” which should be “group’s.”

“It became a ‘monster’ hit, again, 30 years after its original launch,” he said, crediting himself for this development and getting its release date wildly wrong. The song is 48 years old. “Many singers and groups wanted to get on board at the Rallies after all of the Rally Attendance Records were set – The crowds were, and are, enormous – But Victor and the group was there for us right from the beginning!”

There was another error in the tribute. The “group was” should be “the group were.”

Trump did add something uncharacteristically sweet, vowing to play the song in Willis’ honor. “They loved the action, and we loved them and their great and uplifting song. We will think of Victor every time YMCA is played, like today, and all throughout this July Fourth Birthday week. My condolences to his wonderful family and group, Victor Willis will be sorely missed, God Bless Him!!!”

Trump’s insistence that Willis and the other band members “loved” him playing “Y.M.C.A.” at rallies is not the full story. In fact, the group vehemently opposed it—at least at the beginning.

In 2020, Willis demanded that Trump stop playing “Y.M.C.A.” at rallies. “I don’t endorse Trump,” he told the BBC that year. However, by January 2025, Willis and the band appeared to come around to Trump, performing at his inauguration victory rally in Washington, where the president awkwardly danced alongside them.

Indeed, the song and Trump’s accompanying jig have become synonymous with the MAGA movement.

But the band, as recently as May, distanced itself from Trump, with a spokesperson telling the Daily Beast that “Village People are not MAGA as the group does not support President Trump’s policies in any respect.”

In announcing his death, the official Facebook page of the Village People said Willis succumbed to “a short but aggressive illness.”

Willis was the founding lead singer and co-writer of Village People’s biggest hits, including Trump’s favorite track, “Macho Man,” and “In The Navy.”

Trump’s death tributes are often remarkable—and usually for the wrong reasons. He inspired widespread disgust with his message after the Trump-critical movie director Rob Reiner and his wife were killed in December. He said in a Truth Social post that Reiner’s death was linked to “Trump derangement syndrome.”

In March this year, the president responded with glee to the death of an American hero whom the president turned into a political enemy. After former special counsel Robert Mueller died at age 81, Trump wrote on his social media site, “Good, I’m glad he’s dead.”

Mueller was a Bronze Star combat veteran known for his devout faith, devotion to his family, and public service. He led the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, earning the ire of Trump.