Back in 2002, when Trump’s casinos in Atlantic City seemed to be doing well, the former potential Reform Party presidential candidate hired Luciano Pavarotti to sing at one of his casinos.
I never figured Trump for an opera fan, and maybe not even the Dump himself remembers why he was dissatisfied with Pavarotti’s performance. Maybe the dumbass was hoping to hear Wagner’s Walkürenritt with “Kill da wabbit!” for lyrics.
Whatever the reason, Trump was dissatisfied enough to ask for a refund. Or maybe the broke billionaire was hurting for money for something else. Not really a great way to strengthen a friendship with an internationally renowned musician.
In 2006, Pavarotti sang his signature aria, “Nessum dorma” from Puccini’s Turandot, at the Olympics. He died the following year.
Fast forward to 2016. Apparently Trump used Pavarotti’s signature aria at campaign rallies. According to Emily Shugerman reporting for Independent, the Pavarotti family asked Trump to stop using the Pavarotti recording at his rallies.
As members of his immediate family, we would like to recall that the values of brotherhood and solidarity which Luciano Pavarotti expressed throughout the course of his artistic career are entirely incompatible with the world view offered by the candidate Donald Trump.
But if Trump disregarded the objections of living American musicians like Steven Tyler, why would he pay any attention to the family of an Italian opera singer who died almost ten years ago?
This brings us up to a couple of days ago. Trump, in a press conference with Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, claimed to be “great friends” with Pavarotti. I guess that stuff about asking for a refund became water under the bridge once the singer died.
That’s how insecure Donald J. Trump is. Knowing that his Electoral College victory is riddled with asterisks, he craves the validation of friendship with celebrities so desperately that he will insult the memory of great men like Pavarotti.
Trump also mentioned Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi, who died in 1901. At least the dumbass did not repeat his Frederick Douglass faux pas.
By the way, if you want to hear Pavarotti singing something other than “Nessum dorma,” look him up in Verdi's La Forza del Destino.
Correction: It was pointed out to me in the comments that Adele is British, not American. No problem, I just looked through the Independent’s list of musicians who have asked Trump not to use their music and see if I can find an American to replace Adele with.