He went on a tangent about his love for getting down to Village People’s 1978 hit “Y.M.C.A.” at an event in Florida on Friday.

Donald Trump says wife Melania ‘hates’ when he dances to ‘the gay national anthem’: ‘It’s not presidential’

He went on a tangent about his love for getting down to Village People's 1978 hit "Y.M.C.A." at an event in Florida on Friday.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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May 2, 2026 12:45 p.m. ET

Donald Trump in Las Vegas on April 16, 2026. Credit:

Ian Maule/Bloomberg via Getty

- Donald Trump says his wife, Melania Trump, "hates" when he dances to "what's sometimes referred to as the gay national anthem."

- He explained that the first lady thinks him dancing to Village People's 1978 hit "Y.M.C.A." is "not presidential."

- He also bragged about the song's chart performance after it surged in popularity during his 2024 campaign.

Donald Trump says his wife doesn't always appreciate his dance moves.

The president went on a tangent about his affinity for grooving to the Village People's 1978 hit "Y.M.C.A." during an appearance in Sumterville, Fla., on Friday.

"She hates when I dance to what's sometimes referred to as the gay national anthem, you know," he said of Melania Trump. "She hates it."

Trump went on to explain why the first lady objects to his fist-pumping dance moves — which, it should be noted, do not resemble the typical alphabetical gestures that "Y.M.C.A." ordinarily inspires.

"We love that song," he said. "But she goes, 'Darling, please.' You know, she's a very elegant woman. She goes, 'Darling, please, don't dance. It's not presidential.'"

Trump's response? "I said, 'It may not be presidential, but I'm leading by 20 points in the polls.'"

Donald Trump and Melania Trump in Washington, D.C., on April 28, 2026.

Samir Hussein/WireImage

Trump also bragged about how his bid for president impacted the track's chart performance decades after it was released. "You know, that song was No. 5 32 years ago, and it went to No. 1 32 years later," he claimed. "There's never been anything like it. It never hit No. 1. It was No. 5 32 years ago, and it went to No. 1 for months during the last months of the campaign."

Trump's chart numbers and dates do not totally check out. While it's true that "Y.M.C.A." did experience renewed popularity as he used the song throughout his 2024 presidential campaign (and also because of widespread usage of it on TikTok), the specific data he cites is incorrect.

"Y.M.C.A." first hit the airwaves in October 1978 — 48 years ago, not 32 — and peaked at No. 2 — not No. 5 — on the *Billboard* Hot 100 chart in February 1979. When the song shot back into the zeitgeist in 2024, it did hit No. 1 — but on the* Billboard* Dance Digital Song Sales chart, not the *Billboard* Hot 100.

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Trump has a somewhat tumultuous history with "Y.M.C.A." He played the song throughout his 2020 presidential campaign, which the Village People initially approved of, writing in a February 2020 Facebook post, "He has remained respectful in his use of our songs and has not crossed the line."

However, Village People singer Victor Willis, who also wrote the song, changed his mind about Trump's use of the song after observing the administration's militant response to peaceful Black Lives Matter protests in June 2020.

"I ask that you no longer use any of my music at your rallies, especially 'Y.M.C.A.' and 'Macho Man.' Sorry, but I can no longer look the other way," Willis wrote on Facebook in June 2020.

Donald Trump in May 2026.

Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty

However, Willis changed his mind again after Trump used the song in his 2024 campaign. The songwriter noted that the politician had gone through the proper legal channels to license it, and that the tune has grossed "several million dollars" since the president began using it. "Therefore, I'm glad I allowed the president-elect's continued use of 'Y.M.C.A.' And I thank him for choosing to use my song," he wrote in a 2024 Facebook post, in which he also denied that the song was a gay anthem.

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Village People then performed the track with Trump by their side on stage at the politician's Make America Great Again Victory Rally the night before his January 2025 inauguration.

"Our performances are not an [endorsement] of the president-elect's policies," Willis claimed at the time, "no matter what you say to the contrary."

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