Trump campaign continues unauthorized use of music at political rallies


This time the former president’s team played Sinead O'Connor's “Nothing compares 2 U”.

The team in charge with the election campaign of Donald Trump has attracted outrage from the estate of late Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor by playing last month the song “Nothing compares 2 U” at a rally in Maryland.

The singer's estate told BBC News it was "no exaggeration to say that Sinéad would have been disgusted, hurt, and insulted" by his use of her music at political events and especially by a politician whom she had called “a biblical devil”. 

"Throughout her life, it is well known that Sinéad O'Connor lived by a fierce moral code defined by honesty, kindness, fairness, and decency towards her fellow human beings. It was with outrage therefore that we learned that Donald Trump has been using her iconic performance of Nothing Compares 2 U at his political rallies. It is no exaggeration to say that Sinéad would have been disgusted, hurt, and insulted to have her work misrepresented in this way by someone who she herself referred to as a 'biblical devil'.

As the guardians of her legacy, we demand that Donald Trump, and his associates desist from using her music immediately,” reads a joint statement from O'Connor's estate and her longtime label Chrysalis Records.

Trump, who is running for Republican presidential nomination for re-election in November 2024, is not at his first collision with artists. He earlier used Abba's Dancing Queen, Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire and Elvis Presley's Suspicious Minds.

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He also received objections from Rihanna, Bruce Springsteen, the rock bands Aerosmith and Rolling Stones, the family of Italian opera singer Luciano Pavarotti, British singer Adele, musician Elton John, the Linkin Park, R.E.M., Neil Young – some of whom threatened the ex-president with legal action should he continue using their songs without consent.

“Nothing compares 2 U” was originally written by American musician Prince in 1985 for his band The Family. O'Connor's version of this song was released in the United Kingdom in 1990, become the number one his for four weeks.

Sinéad O'Connor died last in July 2023 at the age of 56, reportedly of natural causes.

Donald Trump served as the 45th US president after winning the 2016 election, but he lost to President Joe Biden in 2020.

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