Donald Trump has linked one of the Rolling Stones signature tracks to the Democrats—four years after the rock band issued him with cease and desist directives to stop playing their music at his rallies.
During the last election cycle in 2020, Trump faced the wrath of the Stones as they demanded that he stop playing their enduring 1969 hit, "You Can't Always Get What You Want," at his rallies. Despite this, he continued, prompting the band to threaten to sue the then president.
Trump, the presumed 2024 Republican presidential nominee, compared the Stones' track to Sam & Dave's 1966 classic "Hold On, I'm Comin'"—which he has since adopted at his rallies and played at the end of his speech during a campaign stop at the Buckeye Values PAC event in Ohio on Saturday.
When Trump asked rally attendees if they liked the Sam & Dave track, they responded with a resounding "yes." He then compared the two songs as he attempted to use the lyrics of one to attack his opponent, President Joe Biden.
Appearing to muddle his words, the real estate mogul said: "Who liked the Rolling—OK, you had the Rolling song, Stone song, which we liked. That was for first. You know that song, right? 'You Can't Always Get What You Want,' which made no sense, you know. But it was a good song, right? It made no sense."
"'You Can't Always Get...' They asked me. I say, 'No, they're talking about the Democrats,'" Trump continued. "I said, 'The Democrats can't always get what they want.' So that way at least saved it. But it was a good song. Or the Sam & Dave.
"Who likes the second [song] better, 'Hold On I'm Comin,'' yes? Do you like it better? Both good. The other does bring back some good memories, in all fairness. And it's really no wonder that Joe Biden and his thugs are so desperate to stop us. They only know... And you remember this, we're the only ones—and they know this—that can stop them. We're the only ones. There's nobody else around.
"If this election isn't won, I'm not sure that you'll ever have another election in this country," he added. "Does that make sense?"
Newsweek has contacted a representative of the Stones via email for comment.
Back in 2020, after Trump continued to defy their wishes about not using their song at his rallies, the Stones subsequently worked with performing rights organization Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), which officially notified the Trump campaign of intentions to sue if their cease and desist demands continued to be ignored.
"This could be the last time President Donald Trump uses Stones songs," the Stones said in a statement obtained by Newsweek at the time. "Despite cease [and] desist directives to Donald Trump in the past, the Rolling Stones are taking further steps to exclude him using their songs at any of his future political campaigning.
"The Stones' legal team is working with BMI. BMI has notified the Trump campaign on behalf of the Stones that the unauthorized use of their songs will constitute a breach of its licensing agreement. If Donald Trump disregards the exclusion and persists, then he would face a lawsuit for breaking the embargo and playing music that has not been licensed."
A BMI representative explained in a statement to Newsweek at the time that although the Trump campaign had a Political Entities License, allowing the organization to play more than 15 million musical works at campaign events, "there is a provision, however, that allows BMI to exclude musical works from the license if a songwriter or publisher objects to its use by a campaign."
"BMI has received such an objection and sent a letter notifying the Trump campaign that the Rolling Stones' works have been removed from the campaign license, and advising the campaign that any future use of these musical compositions will be in breach of its license agreement with BMI," the statement continued.
Two election cycles ago, in 2016, the Stones also spoke out against Trump using another of their hits, the 1981 track "Start Me Up," at an event.
"The Rolling Stones have never given permission to the Trump campaign to use their songs and have requested that they cease all use immediately," a Stones spokesperson said in a statement at the time.
Over the years, a number of artists including Elton John, Rihanna, Neil Young, Adele, Panic! At the Disco, and Aerosmith have also issued statements claiming to have not given Trump permission to use their songs for political campaigning.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Ryan Smith is a Newsweek Senior Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on ... Read more
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