Campaign Scootin Boogie



I like to blog about the funny and weird parts of the Iowa Caucus campaign. 


My last post had mentioned the Lincoln Dinner held in Des Moines in July. There have been several notable “viral” moments but this may be the one that caused the most buzz. 


The Huffington Post reported:


Former President Donald Trump faced the music at a campaign event in Iowa ― and the irony was off the charts.


As Trump took the stage, the song lyric “one could end up going to prison, one just might be president” played from Brooks & Dunn’s “Only in America.” Trump pumped his fist after “prison” but probably wasn’t hearing the words.


News outlets reported that the dozen candidates who spoke to the crowd all walked out to snippets of the same song. 



Armchair pundits postulated that it surely wasn’t an accident. 


Politico reported:


- that it could have been a retaliation to a then recent verbal attack by Trump on Gov. Kim Reynolds (Reynolds had been a shortlist Veep candidate on most pundit notebooks but had refused endorsing Trump and had seemingly buddied up to Ron DeSantis)


- Trump had been using Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” at his other rallies


- Gave a subdued speech - talking for nine minutes of the ten allotted 


Music blog A Taste of Country wrote


Like all the candidates who spoke at the rally, Trump walked out onstage to "Only in America," the country duo's sweeping 2001 ode to possibility and the American dream. The song's lyrics marvel at the infinite life paths available for citizens of the U.S.A., but they took on new meaning when Trump strode across the station just as the recording played the lyric, "One could end up goin' to prison / One just might be president."


That those exact lyrics were playing as Trump took the stage was apparently coincidental -- "Only in America" is a popular choice of walk-out music for campaign events of all description, on both sides of the political aisle -- but it was certainly a little on the nose, considering Trump's current legal woes.


Trump was reportedly infuriated as the media focused on the latter part of the lyric (the former sounded okay) and Ronnie Dunn  took to social media to say he backed Trump. 


On an unrelated note, the release of Trump’s mugshot in August will probably be always related to the 2024 election cycle. Based on Trump supporters loving the defiant look and Trump haters feeling schadenfreude- it’s hard to say which side loved it more.   

                                            



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