Following the announcement that the Village People would be performing at several upcoming inauguration events, what is it about their songs that appeals to the President-elect?
Village People’s YMCA is a high-energy disco hit that encourages young working-class men to meet like-minded individuals at Young Men’s Christian Association hostels. It’s been interpreted as an ode to the delights of picking up sexual partners at them – it appears on an album entitled Cruisin’ – and it was first performed by a group of chiselled dancers sporting moustaches and figure-hugging fancy dress costumes. It’s hardly surprising, then, that the song has been so closely associated with gay culture ever since its release in 1978. What is perhaps surprising is that it is now so closely associated with US President-elect Donald Trump.
The Trump dance never really ages. pic.twitter.com/yjAjpg8g53
— Meme Wars (@_MemeWars) January 9, 2025
