Rufus Wainwright says he should use the fact Trump is a fan to ‘reason with him’

Singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright has said that he could use the fact Donald Trump is a fan of one of his songs to “reason” with the incoming president “if worse comes to the worse”.

Trump is set for his second inauguration on 20 January, with the United States and the world braced for what a second Trump administration will unleash.

Trump’s campaign saw him condemned for using Wainwright’s cover of “Hallelujah”, originally by Leonard Cohen, during a chaotic campaign event for the Republican.

At the time, Canadian singer-songwriter Wainwright, whose version of the song was released in 2001 as part of the soundtrack for the animated film Shrek, called the song an “anthem dedicated to peace, love and acceptance of the truth”.

He added: “I’ve been supremely honoured over the years to be connected with this ode to tolerance. Witnessing Trump and his supporters commune with this music last night was the height of blasphemy.

“Of course, I in no way condone this and was mortified, but the good in me hopes that perhaps in inhabiting and really listening to the lyrics of Cohen’s masterpiece, Donald Trump just might experience a hint of remorse over what he’s caused. I’m not holding my breath.”

Now, speaking to The Times, Wainwright feels that he could use the fact that Trump likes his song as leverage should things get out of hand during his second term.

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“It was an obscene thing to do,” said Wainwright about Trump’s unauthorised use of the song. “But since then I’ve heard rumblings on the grapevine that Trump is actually a big fan of my version of the song. So perhaps, if the worse comes to the worse, I should go down to Mar-a-Lago and reason with him, before he pushes the button.”

While several prominent singers have been calling out Trump as long ago as 1989, when he was a promoter for the Rolling Stones (Keith Richards was not a fan), his time as president prompted many more to criticise him at shows, write protest songs about him, or mock him from their social media accounts.

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In more recent times, Trump has been shunned by numerous high-profile musicians such as Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Elton John and Jack White for using their songs at his events.

However, Trump has found some support from the music world with the likes of Carrie Underwood and The Village People set to play at his inauguration.

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