Rufus Wainwright wants to be clear: He does not approve of the Trump campaign’s use of his cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” On Monday, October 14, former President Donald Trump held an event that piqued many people’s interest — not necessarily because of what he said, but because the event seemed to transform into a music listening session. During the town hall in Oaks, Pennsylvania, two attendees required medical attention, so organizers paused the Q&A session.
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The Trump campaign event took an interesting turn.
The first time someone required medical attention at the event, Trump asked his staff to play the song “Ave Maria.” The Q&A resumed but then another attendee needed medical attention. After the second time, Trump decided to listen to music for the remainder of the event. “Let’s not do any more questions. Let’s just listen to music,” Trump said, reported CBS News.
As NPR reported, the presidential candidate stayed on stage for more than 30 minutes as different songs played. He swayed along to the music as several different songs played, including “November Rain” by Guns N’ Roses, “Nothing Compares 2 U,” by the late Sinead O’Connor and Cohen’s “Hallelujah” as performed by Rufus Wainwright.
Wainwright released a statement and called Trump's use of his cover 'the height of blasphemy.'
Wainwright was clearly appalled by the Trump campaign’s use of “Hallelujah.” In a statement shared on X (formerly Twitter), Wainwright spoke about what the song means to him. “The song ‘Hallelujah’ by Leonard Cohen has become an anthem dedicated to peace, love and acceptance of the truth,” he wrote on the platform. “I’ve been supremely honored over the years to be connected with this ode to tolerance.”
Given the meaning behind the song, Wainwright couldn’t believe that it was used at a Trump campaign event, he explained. “Witnessing Trump and his supporters commune with this music last night was the height of blasphemy,” Wainwright continued.
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Trump could learn something from Cohen's lyrics, Wainwright pointed out.
Though he did not approve of Trump’s use of the song, Wainwright held onto hope that maybe Trump would take something meaningful away from its lyrics.
“Of course, I in no way condone this and was mortified, but the good in me hopes that perhaps in inhabiting and really listening to the lyrics of Cohen’s masterpiece, Donald Trump just might experience a hint of remorse over what he’s caused,” Wainwright continued in his statement. “I’m not holding my breath.”
Wainwright's statement noted that the Leonard Cohen estate also opposes Trump's use of the song.
According to the statement shared by Rufus Wainwright, the estate of Leonard Cohen also opposes the Trump campaign’s use of “Hallelujah.”
“The publishing company for the Leonard Cohen estate has sent the Trump campaign a cease and desist letter,” the statement Wainwright shared on X noted. The statement also said Wainwright was “horrified” after he heard that the Trump campaign played the song at the event.
“Needless to say: I am all in for Kamala!” Wainwright wrote on X.
It's not the first time the Trump campaign has used a cover of ‘Hallelujah.'
Many artists have covered “Hallelujah,” and Rufus Wainwright’s version is not the only one that the Trump campaign has tried to use at events. The Cohen estate has spoken out against the Trump campaign’s unauthorized use of the song in the past. At the the Republican National Convention in 2020, Tori Kelly’s cover of “Hallelujah” played. In response, the Cohen estate said “we are exploring our legal options,” reported Rolling Stone.
“We are surprised and dismayed that the RNC would proceed knowing that the Cohen Estate had specifically declined the RNC’s use request, and their rather brazen attempt to politicize and exploit in such an egregious manner ‘Hallelujah,’ one of the most important songs in the Cohen song catalogue,” Michelle L. Rice, legal representative of the Cohen Estate, said at the time, per Rolling Stone.
