ABC correspondent Soorin Kim posted a video of The Smiths' 1984 track "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want" playing through the loudspeakers at a Trump rally on X, formerly known as Twitter, on January 23, 2024. Only twelve hours later, the British alt-rock group's guitarist, Johnny Marr, shared the video on his X account with a caption that didn't mince words. "Ahh...right...OK. I never in a million years would've thought this could come to pass. Consider this s*** shut down right now."
Replies to Marrs' curt tweet were divided between those who supported Marrs' decision to ban The Smiths' music from Trump events and others who insisted that Marrs should have known that his music would potentially be licensed out after releasing it. Some users were quick to suggest that the song was appropriate, given The Smiths' lead singer, Morrissey's long history of controversial opinions regarding race and immigration.
However, even the divisive lead singer has been outspoken about his disdain for Trump. In 2017, Morrissey went so far as to say he would willingly kill the then-sitting president "for the safety of humanity," per Consequence.
