Former president Donald Trump’s campaign to retake the White House is under fire from the estate of late pop singer Sinéad O’Connor this week after her iconic No. 1 hit “Nothing Compares 2 U” has been used at the Republican hopeful’s rallies.
The campaign for Trump, who is a lock for the Republican Party nomination for the presidency after blowing past his primary competition, played the song — written by Prince for his band, The Family, and later rearranged in a cover by the Irish singer-songwriter — at rallies in North Carolina and Maryland last week. Using the 1990 hit from O’Connor, who was known equally for the track as she was for her political activism, brought a harsh rebuke in a joint statement from her label and estate that was widely published on Monday.
“Throughout her life, it is well known that Sinéad O’Connor lived by a fierce moral code defined by honesty, kindness, fairness and decency towards her fellow human beings,” reads the statement, obtained by the Associated Press and other outlets. “It was with outrage therefore that we learned that Donald Trump has been using her iconic performance of ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ at his political rallies.
“It is no exaggeration to say that Sinéad would have been disgusted, hurt and insulted to have her work misrepresented in this way by someone who she herself referred to as a ‘biblical devil.’ As the guardians of her legacy, we demand that Donald Trump and his associates desist from using her music immediately.”
O’Connor died in June of natural causes. She was 56 years old. During an interview published by Hot Press just a few weeks ahead of Trump’s 2020 re-election loss, the singer referred to the U.S. president as a “biblical devil” and then went on about how she felt he is unfit to serve.
“American people; it’s a double-edged sword,” she told the magazine. “Their greatest blessing is their greatest curse. Their national trait is kindness and now perhaps they’re being too kind. They should be non-violently dragging him out of the office. They should be going to him — like they did with Nixon — and saying, ‘You’re not fit for the f—ing office, get out.’”
O’Connor spoke out against powerful institutions throughout her career. Years ahead of the uncovering of widespread child abuse within the Catholic Church, the singer tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II after an a capella performance of “War” on Saturday Night Live. “Fight the real enemy,” she declared in front of a stunned audience.
The moment of protest, one of several at the height of her global fame, drew widespread criticism from groups like the Anti-Defamation League and celebrities including Madonna and Frank Sinatra, who previously had threatened to “kick her ass,” according to reports, after she refused to have the National Anthem played ahead of her stateside performances, citing the racism in the U.S. music industry. Nine years after her SNL appearance, Pope John Paul II apologized for the widespread sexual abuse within the Church, calling it “a profound contradiction of the teaching and witness of Jesus Christ.”
This is not the first time that the Trump campaign has come under fire for using the work of a musical artist on its campaign trail. Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr took to X (formerly known as Twitter) back in January after the former president’s re-election campaign used the band’s 1984 ballad “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want” at rallies in New Hampshire and North Dakota.
Rihanna, the Rolling Stones, Steven Tyler and the estate of David Bowie have also condemned the use of their songs by Trump.
