And you dance, dance, dance… –
When politicians shake their hips, from Trump to Theresa May
The new US president campaigned by dancing to the gay hit “YMCA”. He is the latest in a list of politicians who have stunned the planet with improbable choreographies.
Published today at 8:24 a.m.
During a meeting in Carson City in 2020, Donald Trump was already dancing to “YMCA”. He multiplied this type of performance in 2024, which fueled social networks, which produced compilations. His gestures have also been the subject of numerous imitations.
MANDEL NGAN/AFP
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- Donald Trump danced to “YMCA” during his campaign.
- Trump’s performances have generated parodies on social media.
- The group’s lawyer was unable to prevent the song’s political use.
- Other politicians, like Ueli Maurer and Theresa May, also danced.
This time, it’s not fake news. Donald Trump, 78, spent a good part of his last election campaign wiggling to the chorus of “YMCA,” a Village People hit that dates back to the 1980s.
As surprising as it may seem, this gay anthem was used by the conservative president in most of his rallies, since the group’s lawyer failed to ban this political recovery of the song in court.
Switzerland also has its dancing politician, as this video by Ueli Maurer reminds us.
SCREENSHOT/DR
This surprising musical programming naturally interested many American analysts, who speculated on the reasons for this choice. They generally didn’t pick up on the song’s Christian reference (the “C” in “YMCA” stands for Christians).
Observers rather evoke simple personal tastes of the candidate, when they do not emphasize the Radio Nostalgie side of this programming, a nod to the legendary 80s, when America was great.
Whatever the reasons for this choice, these sequences have gone viral on social networks. With his mechanical choreographies, Donald Trump has added his name to a long list of uninhibited politicians who have stunned the planet with unacademic gestures.
June 1996, Russian President Boris Yeltsin joined a rock band on stage for a wild performance. He was then 76 years old.
YURI KADOBNOV/AFP
In the collective imagination, the American president thus joins a virtual political boy band, where he will wiggle for eternity alongside Ueli Maurer and his famous rabbit dance, in a parody of the “Teletubbies”, or even Boris Yeltsin, who wet his white shirt on the stage of a rock concert.
In 2018, Theresa May, then Prime Minister, took the stage to the tune of “Dancing Queen” by the group Abba. We are at a Conservative Party convention.
Oli SCARFF/AFP
Among female politicians, the most famous dancer is necessarily Theresa May. The former British Prime Minister notably stood out at a Conservative Party conference with a very personal interpretation of “Dancing Queen” (Abba). Again, a sequence that has gone viral. To the point of eclipsing Nadine Morano, tireless host of the Republican Party’s disco evenings in France.
Nadine Morano’s performances during her political party’s disco evenings were also relayed on the internet.
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This story has a disconcerting moral: in politics, a ridiculous dance does not kill.
In a more academic register, there are the dances of the Obama presidential couple. We saw him with characters from “Star Wars”, or, more classic, opening a ball in Washington in 2013.
JEWEL SAMAD/AFP
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Jocelyn Rochat worked for the Nouveau Quotidien, the Journal de Genève, L’Hebdo and Télétop Matin. He now writes in Le Matin Dimanche, the Tribune de Genève and 24 Heures. More info
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