Donald Trump is a slow learner. When he launched his bid to buy the presidency, he caught hell for swiping Neil Young’s “Rockin’ In The Free World.” Well, Trump is in trouble for swiping another song. This time, R.E.M. isn’t pleased that he used one of their hits as his entrance music for a tea-infused rally that he co-hosted on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, Trump hosted a “Stop The Iran Deal Rally” on the steps of the Capitol. The headliners were a virtual who’s-who of tea party favorites–including Ted Cruz, Michele Bachmann, and Glenn Beck. Trump took the stage to the strains of R.E.M.’s 1987 hit, “It’s The End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine).”
David Corn of Mother Jones was on hand for the rally, which quickly degenerated into immigrant bashing. Soon afterward, he asked R.E.M. co-founder and bassist Mike Mills what he thought about The Donald swiping that song. Mills’ response was to the point.
Later, Mills passed on a much more direct response from R.E.M. lead singer Michael Stipe. In two rapid-fire tweets, Stipe let Trump have it.
“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.”
Later in the day, R.E.M. posted a somewhat more measured response on its Facebook page. The band noted that it “did not authorize or condone” the swiping of its music at this rally and asked that Trump “cease and desist from doing so.” However, it asked the public not to lose sight of “the bigger picture” rather than allow “grandstanding politicians” like Trump to distract them from “the pressing issues of the day.”
Personally, I like Stipe’s response a lot better. After all, it’s the second time Trump has been caught swiping music. It’s becoming more and more apparent that Trump thinks just because he’s sitting on $250 million, he can do anything he pleases–and such little things as consideration for others be hanged.
