He's in backlighting and you see him in profile, and then he reveals himself. Ken McLeod: It's very much a rock star moment, isn't it? He's using a song that's quintessentially associated with rock stardom. Spencer Kornhaber: What did you make of Trump’s arrival at the RNC to “We Are the Champions”? This conversation has been edited and condensed.
He teaches music history and culture at the University of Toronto. I spoke with Ken McLeod, the author of We are the Champions: The Politics of Sports and Popular Music, for his thoughts on Trump’s use of one of the all-time great (and gayest) sports anthems. Trump using the song in such a splashy manner is remarkable-because it announces victory before it has been obtained, because a thoroughly British work is being used to “Make America Great Again,” and because of the obvious contradiction between the GOP’s stance on LGBT rights and the fact that the Mercury is a queer icon. The band’s living members have condemned Trump’s use of the song, saying they don’t like their music being used for campaigning, and indeed “We Are the Champions” doesn’t appear to have been a staple of any previous major presidential bids.
