Trump’s Signature Dance Takes a Strange Turn, and a Zoom-In on the Audience Reveals Why He Suddenly Went Off Script
President Donald Trump pulled out his signature dance to the delight of the crowd while speaking at McDonald’s Impact Summit.
Trump, 79, addressed the McDonald’s corporate leadership, franchise owners, and stakeholders in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 17.
Following his 47-minute speech, the president broke into his arm-pumping routine on stage to the Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.” song as the audience cheered and clapped.
As the audience erupted in cheers, Trump paused, soaked it in, and suddenly added a hip swivel and a fake golf swing to his signature routine. His supporters inside the Westin Hotel roared, but online viewers dragged him instantly.
“So we’ve added a golf swing to the strange dance, [this] ridiculous man needs to grow up,” one poster on Threads declared about the Queens-raised billionaire.
A second person wrote, “America has hit a new low where people still cheer for an insurrectionist and a very nasty Truth Social poster. What an embarrassment.”
“They’ve got him juiced on something for this,” suggested another Trump critic, pointing the finger at the president’s staff for his often erratic behavior.
Someone wondered if playing “Y.M.C.A.” was a way to signal for Trump to wrap it up by asking, “Do they play this as a prompt to say, ‘Gramps, time is up, do your little dance and get off stage?’”
Trump would often perform his dance at campaign rallies during his respective presidential runs in 2020 and 2024. “Y.M.C.A.” became the Republican politician’s go-to record of choice for his now-infamous jig.
Initially, the Village People claimed in 2020 that Trump’s use of their classic 1978 hit was legal, but the group announced they preferred that their music be “kept out of politics.”
That same year, Village People founding member Victor Willis demanded that the Trump campaign stop using “Y.M.C.A.” and “Macho Man” at his political gatherings. Willis, 74, stated, “I can no longer look the other way.”
By 2025, the Village People — with Willis in sole control of the group and every original member sidelined — reversed course and fully jumped on the Trump train by performing at the former reality television star’s second inauguration activities in January.
“We know this won’t make some of you happy to hear, however, we believe that music is to be performed without regard to politics,” read a statement from the New York City-bred sextet.
The Village People added, “Our song ‘Y.M.C.A.’ is a global anthem that hopefully helps bring the country together after a tumultuous and divided campaign where our preferred candidate lost.”
NFL wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown recently shouted out Trump by doing the president’s unconventional dance when his Detroit Lions team faced off against the Washington Commanders on Nov. 9.
St. Brown, 26, made the on-field Trump tribute part of a touchdown celebration while the American commander in chief was present in Maryland’s Northwest Stadium for the televised game.
Even though St. Brown honored Trump that Sunday, Commanders fans showered the polarizing MAGA leader with loud boos when his face appeared on the stadium’s screens.
St. Brown even had to walk back his decision to give a nod to the president after securing a 9-yard pass from Detroit quarterback Jared Goff in the first quarter.
“First of all, if I offended anyone, I do apologize. I did not mean to offend anyone. It was just, we’re having fun,” Amon-Ra said on the “St. Brown Podcast” alongside his co-host and brother, NFL player Equanimeous St. Brown.
The three-time Pro Bowl selectee also said, “If any president was at that game, if they had a dance, I would have done it. It had nothing to do with who the president was.”
Love him or hate him, Trump continues to stamp his name as one of the most influential and controversial public figures of the 21st century, with his so-called “Trump dance” being another hot topic that simultaneously energizes his base and draws ridicule from his detractors.
