Turned a town hall into a concert.
Things went off the rails at Donald Trump’s town hall in Pennsylvania last night, when a string of medical emergencies derailed what was supposed to be a Q&A with the former president and 2024 GOP nominee.
The event at the Philadelphia Expo center was moderated by South Dakota governor Kristi Noem, and apparently it was a little too warm in there, with the heat causing an attendee to faint about 30 minutes into the scheduled questions.
While medics tended to the man, Trump requested that “Ave Maria” be played over the speakers. But not long after that, there was another medical episode that interrupted the event.
Trump again requested some music, and commented on the heat while requesting that the doors to the venue be opened – which couldn’t happen due to security reasons. Then, he decided to just call an audible and play music for the overheating crowd:
“Let’s not do any more questions. Let’s just listen to music. Let’s make it into a music fest. Who the hell wants to hear questions right? Isn’t that beautiful?”
Trump then stood on stage for 45 minutes and jammed out to his chosen music – including Oliver Anthony’s viral 2023 hit “Rich Men North of Richmond.”
TRACK 8: Rich Men North of Richmond by Oliver Anthony pic.twitter.com/wjwLxrMzzr
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 15, 2024
Throughout the song, Trump seemed to be encouraging his audience to listen to the lyrics, particularly enjoying the line about wishing that politicians would “look out for miners and not just minors on an island somewhere.” You could see him telling the crowd “that’s right” several times throughout the song as the lyrics criticized the government and politicians.
Of course the song went viral last year and shot to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 charts, making Oliver Anthony (whose real name is Christopher Lunsford) the first artist to ever debut at the top of the chart with his first single. It made him an overnight success, leading up to the release of his debut album Hymnal Of A Troubled Man’s Mind earlier this year.
And it’s not the first time “Rich Men North Of Richmond” has found itself at the center of politics. It was even the topic of a question during the GOP presidential debate last year, though Trump didn’t participate in that debate so he didn’t give his thoughts on the song.
It’s clear how he feels about the song though, because last year during a campaign stop Trump broke out Oliver Anthony’s viral hit and led the crowd in a singalong:
President Trump jamming out to Rich Men North of Richmond 🤩 pic.twitter.com/AvXPg3uKwV
— AG 🔥 (@Yolo304741) September 20, 2023
