The Smiths Lead Guitarist Angry With Donald Trump Using Their Music, Says, ‘Shut It Right Down’

The lead guitarist and original member of the iconic 80s rock group The Smiths, Johnny Marr, is furious because he recently learned that former president Donald Trump rallies frequently play their music. After journalist Ben Jacobs noticed that another Smiths song was being played at Trump's last event in Laconia, New Hampshire, Soorin Kim, an ABC campaign reporter covering Trump rallies, shared a video of a song from The Smiths being played at the South Dakota rally last year. When Johnny Marr saw the tweet, he promised to take action, per Meidas Touch Network.

It's not the first time that Trump has offended musicians by using their songs without their consent. Unauthorized music usage has long been a problem in contemporary politics, especially for Republican candidates, per Forbes.

The musician Bruce Springsteen was at odds with Republican presidential contenders Pat Buchanan and Bob Dole and President Ronald Reagan over the usage of his song Born in the U.S.A., which is ironically quite critical of the nationalistic rhetoric such politicians promote. Republican politicians with regular run-ins with musicians include Sarah Palin, George W. Bush, and John McCain.

Trump has had a very embarrassing relationship with well-known artists both before and after taking office as president in November 2016. Almost no one wanted to play at his inauguration in January 2017, and stories about musicians criticizing Trump for using their songs at political events continued to make headlines in 2020, per Vulture. This fact prompted dozens of well-known performers to sign a letter demanding that politicians get “consent” before using songs during the campaign trail to avoid “legal risk and unnecessary public controversy.” The message was clear: they wanted no affiliation with the former president.

After Trump played You Can't Always Get What You Want at a rally in Tulsa in June 2020, The Rolling Stones released a statement saying they were working with music rights organization BMI to prevent Trump from playing their songs at his rallies. They also stated that BMI had "notified the Trump campaign on behalf of the Stones that the unauthorized use of its songs will constitute a breach of its licensing agreement" and that if he continued to use their music, "he would face a lawsuit for breaking the embargo and playing music that has not been licensed."

In a similar vein, after the song High Hopes was played as Trump Jr. exited a rally in Phoenix in June 2020, Panic! At the Disco vocalist Brendon Urie tweeted, “Dear Trump Campaign, Fuck you. You’re not invited. Stop playing my song,” adding that  “represents nothing we stand for. The highest hope we have is voting this monster out in November.”

Trump has received similar letters from several other musicians, including Neil Young, Rihanna, Adele, and Elton John, asking him to cease utilizing their songs at his rallies.