President Donald Trump thinks Guns N’ Roses‘ ‘November Rain’ has the “greatest music video of all time”, and played the track during a recent rally.
The 1991 single was aired during a campaign event in Michigan last Thursday (September 10), despite previous claims from Axl Rose that Trump was using “loopholes” in order to play music without artists’ consent.
Following the rally, Jennifer Jacobs – senior White House reporter for Bloomberg – took to Twitter to share an excerpt from Speaking For Myself, the new book by the former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
“[Huckabee Sanders] writes in her book about how Trump added [‘November Rain’] to the playlist in 2018 and made SHS and [Communications Director] Hope Hicks watch the Guns n Roses video in the Oval Office because it was the ‘greatest music video of all time’,” Jacobs wrote in the caption.
“November Rain” played at Trump Michigan rally tonight. @SarahHuckabee writes in her book about how Trump added it to the playlist in 2018 and made SHS and Hope Hicks watch the Guns n Roses video in the Oval Office because it was the “greatest music video of all time.” pic.twitter.com/67T2veDdoS
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) September 10, 2020
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Back in 2018, Axl Rose confirmed that Guns N’ Roses were “opposed” to their material being used during rallies, and had “formally requested” it not be featured at any Trump-associated events.
“Unfortunately the Trump campaign is using loopholes in the various venues’ blanket performance licenses which were not intended for such craven political purposes, without the songwriters’ consent. Can u say ‘shitbags?!’,” he added.
Rose has long been vocal on his disdain for the current POTUS. In February, he posted a photo of a man in a ‘Make The White House Great Again’ cap, and explained in July that his politically outspoken tweets came “from a sense of outrage, obligation n’ responsibility”.
Trump has faced legal action and complaints from numerous other acts including The Rolling Stones, Linkin Park, Rihanna and most recently Queen. A spokesperson for the latter claimed that the group were in an “uphill battle” having “repeatedly taken issue with the Trump campaign”.