(Julianna Frieman, Headline USA) Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump became “DJ” Trump when he held an impromptu concert Monday evening in Oaks, Pa. after two medical emergencies cut his townhall short.
Trump queued up his playlist and interacted with the crowd as nine songs filled the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center and Fairgrounds following two unexpected health-related incidents.
The GOP nominee, alongside South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, took questions from audience members on topics including the economy and illegal immigration until he noticed one attendee suffered a medical emergency roughly 30 minutes into the event.
BREAKING: Entire crowd at Trump town hall in Oaks PA singing God Bless America! pic.twitter.com/IArVNvhvOc
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) October 14, 2024
Attendees patriotically sang “God Bless America” as Trump waited patiently for first responders to help his ill supporter, harkening back to the former president’s Oct. 5 do-over rally in Butler, Pa., when Trump and his audience broke out into song after a rallygoer was escorted out for treatment by medical personnel.
While the wait continued at Monday’s townhall, Trump called for “Ave Maria” by Luciano Pavarotti to be played from the loudspeakers. But perhaps it was the late tenor’s soul-rending vibrato in Franz Schubert’s operatic masterpiece, from The Lady of the Lake, that led a second swooning spectator to suffer a medical emergency.
🎸 President Trump turned his town hall into a CONCERT tonight in Oaks, PA 🎵
TRACK 1: Ave Maria by Luciano Pavarotti pic.twitter.com/IW7SSRPoSu
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 15, 2024
“Let’s not do anymore questions. Let’s just listen to music. Let’s make it into a music fest,” Trump told the crowd. “Who the hell wants to hear questions, right? Isn’t that beautiful?”
Trump kept his audience upbeat as he bobbed and swayed to the tunes of “Time To Say Goodbye” by Andrea Bocelli, “It’s a Man’s Man’s World” by James Brown and “Y.M.C.A.” by the Village People.
TRACK 3: It's a Man's Man's Man's World by James Brown pic.twitter.com/3FAjBjQO0z
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 15, 2024
“Nobody’s leaving, what’s going on?” the Republican candidate commented as the jam session continued.
Security opened the doors to alleviate the heat inside the venue, Trump said.
The music played for more than 30 minutes, with additional songs including Rufus Wainwright’s rendition of the Leonard Cohen classic “Hallelujah,” Sinéad O’Connor’s cover of the Prince hit “Nothing Compares 2 U,” Elvis Presley’s “An American Trilogy,” Oliver Anthony’s “Rich Men North of Richmond” and “November Rain” by Guns N’ Roses.
TRACK 5: Hallelujah by Rufus Wainwright pic.twitter.com/kIbOnBRw45
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 15, 2024
TRACK 7: An American Trilogy by Elvis Presley pic.twitter.com/2JA9hsXW5G
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 15, 2024
And last but not least,
TRACK 9: November Rain by Guns N' Roses pic.twitter.com/sfnBZVFpoq
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 15, 2024
“Something very rare is happening in Pennsylvania right now at the Trump townhall,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung wrote on X. “@realDonaldTrump is unlike any politician in history, and it’s great.”
Something very special is happening in Pennsylvania right now at the Trump townhall. @realDonaldTrump is unlike any politician in history, and it's great.
— Steven Cheung (@TheStevenCheung) October 15, 2024
The Harris campaign quickly jumped on an out-of-context clip of Trump enjoying the music, calling the former president “lost, confused, and frozen on stage” in a post on X.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who previously branded herself as the candidate of “joy,” reposted the same video on her own account implying Trump was the one having a cognitive health episode.
“Hope he’s okay,” she wrote
Hope he's okay. https://t.co/WGhGteFpjm
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) October 15, 2024
Left-leaning media outlets ran headlines in lockstep, characterizing Trump’s musical bonding with the audience as a “bizarre town hall episode,” per the Washington Post, or an “odd town hall detour,” per the New York Times.
However, Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt countered that the impromptu dance party was what real joy looked like.
President Trump turned his town hall into a concert tonight and the energy was amazing.
He gives people hope in a way that no other politician is capable of.
This is JOY! ♥️ pic.twitter.com/IOciqJkim7
— Karoline Leavitt (@kleavittnh) October 15, 2024
ABC News correspondent Terry Moran further debunked claims that Trump had a senior moment, calling the GOP nominee’s musical interlude “almost intimate” and a “good time.”
He noted that the former president mingled with the audience to sign autographs and shake hands.
BREAKING: ABC News debunks the Harris campaign's claim that Trump had a "senior moment" on stage, *compliments* him for how he handled the situation.
Another narrative destroyed.
ABC News says Trump decided to change things up after a couple of supporters had medical… pic.twitter.com/mDSWZNGkEq
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 15, 2024
The episode bore similarities to Trump’s appearances at his Mar-a-Lago resort in West Palm Beach, Florida, where he has been known to preside over the dancefloor, according to firsthand accounts—including former North Carolina congressional candidate Bo Hines, who has met Trump on several occasions at Mar-a-Lago, and at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J.
“The most interesting part of our first meeting was that we got to play DJ with him for about 25 minutes,” Hines said in an exclusive August 2022 interview with Headline USA. “As he likes to tell you, if you’re going to run the greatest club in the world you have to pick the music out that people listen to.”
Harris has tried to incorporate music into her campaign, as well, by using big-name artists to draw crowds when she herself cannot. She was accused in one early rally of busing in homeless residents in Atlanta for a free Megan Thee Stallion performance, during which she functioned as the opening act.
At the Democratic National Convention in August, organizers faced criticism following allegations that they had floated the false rumor that former Destiny’s Child star Beyoncé Knowles would be performing on the final day.
Much to the chagrin of attendees, the event ended after Harris’s acceptance speech, leaving many wondering why they had stayed to endure the long waits at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.
Like several other left-wing performers, Knowles did endorse Harris—and, in truly petty form, issued a cease-and-desist order for the Trump campaign to prevent it from using her music. Several other artists have tried doing so, only to find that they do not have the authority to make such demands as the campaign has legally licensed the rights to their songs from the publishing companies that own them.
Julianna Frieman is a freelance writer also published by the Daily Caller and The Federalist. Follow her on Twitter at @JuliannaFrieman.
Headline USA’s Ben Sellers contributed to this report.
