Moments before supporters of President Donald Trump attacked the United States Capitol building on Wednesday, the president and his team danced to Laura Branigan’s 1980s pop hit, “Gloria.” The video of the festive atmosphere, which took place before the president’s speech at a rally prior to the events that took place at the end of the day, has already gone viral on social media, attracting condemnation.
In the video, which appears to have been recorded by the president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., the president, his two sons, daughter Ivanka Trump, counselor Kimberly Guilfoyle and other senior officials, including the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, can be seen in a tent behind the scenes watching the assembled crowd. “Gloria” can be heard exploding, with Guilfoyle even dancing a little. The video was recorded moments before the president took the stage in a speech that has since been widely condemned for inciting violence in the Capitol building.
Of course, Donald Trump is praised by Laura Branigan.
Of course Gloria is your jam.
He never left 1982. pic.twitter.com/wq1GOUdNtD– Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) January 7, 2021
“We will never give up; we will never grant,” the president told the crowd. “We are going to prevent theft. We are going to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue and we are going to the Capitol … We are going to try to give our Republicans, the weak … the kind of pride and boldness they need to retake our country.”
The use of “Gloria” has already been massacred online, with Branigan’s manager, Kathy Golik, tweeting “It is absolutely terrible to hear ‘Gloria’ being played in the background … given the tragic, disturbing and shameful events that occurred on the United States Capitol.” Golik added in a second tweet, “It is very sad and disturbing to see Laura’s beautiful memory and legacy have any association [with] Pres. Trump is such a bleak day in U.S. history. Neither Laura nor her music deserves any unjustified consequences due to the actions of others. “She also added that” no permission “was granted to the president or his team to use the music. Many on social media felt similar outrage, with the clip quickly going viral after the Capitol invasion.