One of the most frustrating things about Donald Trump is that there are so many other passions he could pursue if he weren’t so dead set on returning to the White House and getting revenge on all his enemies. One prime example: Even as ranting on Truth Social and being criminally prosecuted have taken up more and more of his time in recent years, he’s quietly developed a side hustle as a disc jockey.
DJ Trump has been moonlighting at his own golf clubs for at least two years. But sadly, many people outside of Bedminster and Mar-a-Lago are unaware of Trump’s new career. So, here are answers to all your questions about the former president’s least politically dangerous skill set.
I’m sorry, what is Trump doing?
He’s playing music for members of his clubs on a regular basis.
So he’s literally working the turntables?
No. He’s just picking tunes from a Spotify playlist on his iPad and blasting them through the patio and dining areas at an extremely loud volume. Trump’s style is closer to Kendall Roy than Grandmaster Flash.
How long has this been going on?
Trump says he’s “always had a high aptitude for music.” In The Art of the Deal he claimed that this led him to assault a teacher in elementary school:
In the second grade I actually gave a teacher a black eye. I punched my music teacher because I didn’t think he knew anything about music and I almost got expelled.
The Washington Post investigated this story and it seems likely it was highly exaggerated, if not totally made up.
But how long has he been DJ-ing?
Trump’s clubs have been advertising his sets since at least 2022.
How often does Trump DJ?
In February 2023, “Page Six” reported that Trump had become “Mar-a-Lago’s resident DJ” and was spinning tunes on a weekly basis:
A socially connected insider tells Page Six that “Trump is officially DJing every Thursday night” at the members-only club. The source added, “Members know this, and when they invite guests they say, ‘Let’s have dinner on Thursday, because Trump DJs every Thursday,’ as an event.”
But now Trump appears to be working the iPad even more frequently. Axios reported on April 4, 2024:
Most nights when he’s home, he walks downstairs to the ground floor of Mar-a-Lago. Like clockwork, the crowd rises in applause, greeting the guest of honor — and sometimes complimenting his ear for music. Trump shakes hands as people pass his table near the front. After dinner, he’ll open his iPad and play the hits. Sometimes it’s so loud that people have trouble talking. He marvels at the sound quality filling the garden.
Is Trump any good?
Well, that depends on your opinion of mixing classic rock, ’80s hits, and show tunes. (And there’s no evidence he’s doing any actual mixing.) As with the music played at his rallies, Trump’s musical tastes are eclectic. Per the Post:
As far as his style, the insider tells us the former president is “on an iPad — usually from his table — so he eats and plays. He loves the ’80s and Broadway tunes — like ‘Phantom of the Opera’ — and Céline Dion, ‘Titanic.’ ”
“ ‘YMCA’ is another favorite,” they revealed.
Axios said the approved playlist doesn’t change much:
The songs stay the same. At Mar-a-Lago — and on the patio of his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey — the music is always “big names and songs people recognize,” a member of his inner circle tells us.
It’s Trump’s golden oldies: “Phantom of the Opera” … “Jesus Christ Superstar” … and Elvis, including “Suspicious Minds.” Plus “Hello” by Lionel Ritchie … Guns N’ Roses’ “November Rain” … and the duet by James Brown and Luciano Pavarotti, “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World.” Sinéad O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” is a favorite. REM snuck in a couple of weeks ago. Elton John’s another favorite.
Are Trump’s guests into it?
Yes, for the most part. Though some don’t appreciate listening to “Music of the Night” at a deafening volume, per the Post:
The insider added that the 76-year-old “Apprentice” alum was “playing mostly ’80s music that got everyone dancing.” He also played “Phantom of the Opera” loudly, which even had some elderly guests privately grousing, we hear.
Is there any video of Trump doing this?
Yes. Here’s footage of Trump working the 2022 Mar-a-Lago Halloween party:
Here he is pondering his playlist during a dinner with Melania:
And here’s video of Trump blasting “Con te partirò” during Mar-a-Lago’s 2023 Halloween party (see the last slide):
Why is Trump doing this?
Music soothes Trump. In the White House he dubbed an aide the “Music Man” and tasked him with playing his favorite show tunes whenever he was in one of his rages.
Perhaps DJ-ing serves the same purpose in Trump’s post-presidency. The New York Times reported that hours after learning he’d become the first American president to be indicted, he was out on the Mar-a-Lago patio playing Village People songs:
Sitting with a group that included his daughter Tiffany and her husband, as well as his longest-serving adviser, Roger J. Stone Jr., Mr. Trump used an iPad to choose the music blaring over speakers: “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” by James Brown — one of Mr. Trump’s favorite performers — “Macho Man” by the Village People and the national anthem sung by a choir of inmates arrested after storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Does Trump perform during these sets?
Not exactly. Though he occasionally does a little fist-pumping dad dance, and as the Times noted his voice is featured in the the “J6 Prison Choir’s” recording of the national anthem:
When the anthem played, people rose to their feet, put their hands over their hearts and sang along, according to two attendees. In the song, Mr. Trump’s own voice periodically cut into the soundtrack to chant the Pledge of Allegiance, a recording experience he has boasted about as the song topped Billboard’s digital song chart.
Does he have a DJ name?
Not officially, but “Regulars jokingly call it the ‘Deejay T’ performance,” according to Axios.
Is Trump paid for DJ-ing at his own clubs?
Presumably he offers these services for free. But a Trump-aligned super-PAC once paid Melania $155,000 to choose tableware for a Mar-a-Lago dinner party, so I wouldn’t put it past him.
Has he ever talked about his passion for DJ-ing?
Yes. During a 2022 podcast interview, the Nelk Boys asked Trump if the rumors about him “spinning” at Mar-a-Lago were true. “No, I don’t spin, but I pick. I pick the ones I like,” he said.
When asked to share his “go-to banger,” Trump said “Y.M.C.A.” by the Village People “gets them rocking.”
“‘Y.M.C.A.,’ the gay national anthem. Did you ever hear that?” Trump asked. “They call it the gay national anthem. ‘Y.M.C.A.’ gets people up and it gets them moving.”
(There is no official “gay national anthem” and Trump later got into a legal spat with the Village People after he hired impersonators to perform poolside at Mar-a-Lago.)
So, why is Trump such a beloved DJ (at least, among people who pay hundred of thousands of dollars to hang out at his club)? He explained: “We have a lot of good song selections and people love it when I do it.”
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