The Smiths’ Guitarist Johnny Marr Slams Trump For Using His Band’s Songs At MAGA Rallies

Johnny Marr, the former guitarist for the rock band The Smiths, slammed Donald Trump for using one of his band’s songs during his political rallies.

“As Trump is scheduled to take the stage in [Laconia, New Hampshire], the new addition to his pre-rally music is The Smiths,” the X user wrote.

On January 23, another user replied to this post with a clip from a Trump rally in Rapid City, South Dakota.

“You actually hear the Smiths more often than you’d think at 2024 Trump rallies,” the user wrote in her post’s caption.

The Smiths song “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want,” released in 1984, can be heard playing over the loudspeakers.

“Ahh…right…OK,” Marr wrote on X in response to Kim’s post. “I never in a million years would’ve thought this could come to pass. Consider this s— shut right down right now.”

Many artists have struggled in trying to stop Trump from playing their music at public events.

“Good luck,” the novelist John Niven wrote in response to Marr’s post. “The Stones, Neil Young, Tom Petty have all been trying to get Trump to stop using their music for years.”

The list of artists who have publicly criticized the 45th U.S. president for using their songs at his rallies includes Adele, Rihanna, Ozzy Ozbourne, Panic! at the Disco, Queen and the estates of Laura Branigan, Prince and George Harrison.

Additionally, artists such as the Rolling Stones, Pharrell Williams, Linkin Park and The Village People have issued cease-and-desists to the former president for using their music during his events.

Trump has kept playing some of these artists’ songs during his time on the campaign trail despite not having their permission to do so.

Back in August 2018, Steven Tyler, the lead singer of the rock band, Aerosmith, hit the former president with a letter written by Dina LaPolt, the singer’s lawyer, demanding him to stop playing his music at his events.

LaPolt wrote that Trump’s constant usage of “Livin’ On The Edge” indicates that Tyler and its creators support his campaign and/or his presidency. According to his lawyer, the reactions that his fans had on social media showed evidence of this support.

Tyler has threatened legal action if Trump fails to comply with his request. He even clarified on X why he wants the former president to stop using his music, stating that this is not a partisan issue, but it is one of the songwriters’ rights.

Last fall, the music rights management service, BMI, sent Vivek Ramaswamy‘s campaign a letter telling them that Marshall Mathers, better known as Eminem, demanded that they stop using his songs.

This happened after Ramaswamy used Eminem’s song “Lose Yourself” during Iowa’s State Fair in early August 2023, where he performed the song in front of a crowd. A clip of this performance became viral online.

According to a letter sent to the Vivek 2024 presidential campaign, BMI attorney Pamela Williams said that any performance of the rapper’s works by this campaign would be a material breach of their agreement with the BMI Music License for political entities.