Fortunate Son: Song about rich man avoiding Vietnam service played at Trump rally

President’s playlists have generated many awkward moments

Donald Trump arrived at a rally in Michigan yesterday to the sound of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son” – a protest song railing against inherited wealth, inequality in military service, and violent hypocrisy on the part of elected leaders.

Played between Laura Branigan’s legendary 1980s belter “Gloria” and Lee Greenwood’s patriotic “Proud to be an American”, the song greeted the arrival of Air Force One at a large rally where Mr Trump gave a rambling speech in his usual style before a large crowd.

The content of “Fortunate Son” chimes awkwardly with Mr Trump’s biography, railing as it does against inherited wealth, tax avoidance, and the hypocrisy of presidents who arrive to the sound of “Hail to the Chief” but “point the cannon at you”.

Mr Trump, who inherited hundreds of millions of dollars, is still embroiled in a years-long battle against a subpoena for his financial records.

He has also been criticised over the summer for sending in federal forces to break up protests – including one incident in Washington where peaceful demonstrators were cleared out of his way with tear gas so he could stage a photoshoot outside a church near the White House.

The lyrics about service in Vietnam, however, come after a particularly difficult moment for the president, who was recently accused of repeatedly denigrating fallen soldiers as “losers” and “suckers”, in an article in The Atlantic.  

While he and the White House strongly denied the allegations, they were confirmed by multiple sources – even to loyal outlet Fox News.

Mr Trump also famously avoided the Vietnam draft, including with a diagnosis of bone spurs in his feet. There are inconsistencies in the story of how he obtained that medical deferment despite having been a keen college sportsman, and he has previously claimed he escaped the draft partly by receiving a high number in the lottery run to decide who was drafted – even though the draft began 18 months after he left college.

Mr Trump’s rally playlists, which tilt toward classic upbeat rock and pop, have got him into trouble on more than one occasion, with artists from Neil Young to R.E.M. and Pharell Williams taking legal action to stop him from using their songs.

He also caught flak for playing the Guns ‘n’ Roses cover of “Live and Let Die” while touring a factory that produced anti-coronavirus masks.