Trump Brags About 'Enormous' Crowds at His Rallies While Responding to Death of Village People Singer Victor Willis
Trump Brags About 'Enormous' Crowds at His Rallies While Responding to Death of Village People Singer Victor Willis
Joseph KonigWed, July 1, 2026 at 4:44 PM UTC
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President Donald Trump dances as The Village People perform the song "YMCA" during an event on Dec. 5, 2025, in Washington. Victor Willis of the Village People Musical group performs during the Boogietown Festival in Surrey, U.K.Credit: Mandel NGAN / POOL / AFP via Getty; Bonnie Britain/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty -
President Donald Trump memorialized Village People lead singer Victor Willis on Wednesday, July 1
In a Truth Social post, the president bragged about his “enormous” rally crowds and claimed credit for making the group’s iconic song “Y.M.C.A.” a “monster” hit again by using it as his unofficial anthem
Willis and other members of the Village People performed ahead of Trump’s second inauguration in January 2025
President Donald Trump memorialized Village People lead singer Victor Willis on Wednesday, July 1, by bragging about his “enormous” rally crowds and claiming credit for making the group’s iconic song “Y.M.C.A.” a “monster” hit again by using it as his unofficial anthem.
Willis, a founding member of the world-famous disco group, died on Tuesday, June 30, after “a short but aggressive illness,” the group announced on Facebook. He would have turned 75 on Wednesday.
“Village People singer Victor Willis is dead at 74. He was a great and happy guy who loved that I used his [group's] song, YMCA, at my Rallies,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday morning. “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!”
“We will think of Victor every time YMCA is played, like today, and all throughout this July Fourth Birthday week,” the president added.
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Willis and other members of the Village People performed ahead of Trump’s second inauguration in January 2025, and defended their decision to do so in a statement at the time.
"We know this [won't] make some of you happy to hear however we believe that music is to be performed without regard to politics,” the group said. “Our song Y.M.C.A. is a global anthem that hopefully helps bring the country together after a tumultuous and divided campaign where our preferred candidate lost."
Trump, 80, has long been a fan of the 1978 hit, playing it frequently at rallies and other events over the course of his political career — including during the final moments of his presidency in January 2021 as he boarded Air Force One.
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The band later issued a cease-and-desist to Trump in 2023 after he used another one of their hit songs, "Macho Man," at a Mar-a-Lago event.
Willis, the last remaining original member of the group, appeared on Fox & Friendsin December 2024 and said the Village People decided to drop the cease-and-desist.
"I decided to allow the president-elect's continued use of ‘Y.M.C.A.’ because he seems to genuinely, genuinely like the song, and so many other artists were stopping him from using their music," Willis said at the time.
Donald Trump watches the Village People perform "Y.M.C.A." on stage at his victory rally at the Capital One Arena on Jan. 19, 2025, in Washington.Credit: Scott Olson/Getty
In his post on Wednesday, Trump boasted that “Y.M.C.A.” became a “‘monster’ hit, again, 30 years after its original launch.”
The song debuted in 1978, 48 years ago.
However, the president was not incorrect about his other claim: the song did hold the top spot on Billboard’s Dance Digital Song Sales chart in December 2024 and January 2025, after he was reelected.
In May, speaking to an audience at The Villages retirement community in Florida, Trump said first lady Melania Trump isn't a fan of his dance moves to the song, but suggested the tune did help him in the polls and boosted the song’s resurgence.
President Donald Trump dances to the Village People's song Y.M.C.A. as, from left to right, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Conference Chair Lisa McClain applaud during a March 9, 2026, event in Miami.Credit: SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty
“She hates when I dance to what is sometimes referred to as the gay national anthem,” he said. “She hates it."
“You know, she's a very elegant woman. She goes, ‘Darling, please don't dance. It's not presidential,’” Trump continued. “I said, ‘It may not be presidential, but I'm leading by 20 points in the polls or something.’ "
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
