Donald Trump has revealed that his wife Melania 'hates' when he performs his signature dance to the Village People's 1978 disco hit 'YMCA' at his rallies. Speaking at The Villages retirement community in Florida on Friday evening, Trump referred to the song as 'what's sometimes referred to as the gay national anthem' and said Melania urges him not to dance because 'it's not presidential'.
Despite her objections, Trump proceeded to perform a brief routine to the song, adding a golf swing. Over the course of his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump ended more than 110 rallies with the 'YMCA' dance, according to an ABC News report.
In a January interview with Fox News, Melania Trump offered a slightly different view, saying she likes the dance 'at certain times' but that 'some days it's not appropriate'. She added that she performed the YMCA dance herself at Trump's inauguration, but 'it's different than his'.
The song has been widely interpreted as a gay anthem, with lyrics about 'hanging out with all the boys' at the YMCA. However, Village People lead singer and co-writer Victor Willis has denied this, stating in a December 2024 Facebook post that the lyrics were about 'black guys hanging-out together for sports, gambling or whatever' and that 'there's nothing gay about that'.
In 2023, the Village People's manager sent a cease-and-desist letter demanding Trump stop using their songs, but he continued. In January 2025, an incarnation of the group performed 'YMCA' at several Trump inaugural events, saying they believed music should 'bring the country together'. Former member Jim Newman criticised the decision, claiming the original group would 'never' have performed at a Trump rally.
