One of the first things that separated candidate Donald J. Trump from any other politician I had worked for, read about, or covered over a lifetime of following politics was his rallies.
The first rally I attended was in December 2015 at the State Fair Grounds in Raleigh, North Carolina. My friend Earl Phillip was the state director for the Trump campaign at the time, and I went expecting to like Trump; I had no idea I would leave there a solid supporter of his. Nothing Earl had told me about Trump would prepare me for what I was about to experience.
Two things struck me immediately; one was the crowd who was drawn to him. After 15 years of being active in Republican politics in Raleigh, I knew what to expect in the group who would show up to a political event.
At that early Trump rally, the people were “non political people” who appeared to be enthusiastically supportive of his candidacy, which was odd because they did not appear to be politically active people. That was thrilling for me to see.
Second, I could not help but notice the music playing while we waited for him to arrive. I had never been to a political event that was like a concert. Trump’s ability to appeal to people across platforms was fascinating to me.
As I listened to the songs, I knew that each piece just must have been chosen for a purpose, and I would spend the next five years listening to the lyrics, trying to interpret the hidden message to his supporters, and taking note of the changes to the soundtrack of the Trump rallies.
One song, in particular, was quite mysterious to me. That one was Nessun dorma – by Puccini. Now I understand the significance.
On Tuesday, a poster on Twitter posted a clip of First Lady Melania Trump talking about her first dance with her husband, at their wedding, in 2005.
And there it was, their first dance was to Nessun dorma—what a romantic story.
The song is an aria from the final act of Giacomo Puccini‘s opera Turandot. It is sung by Calaf, il principe ignoto (the unknown prince), who falls in love at first sight with the beautiful but cold Princess Turandot. Any man who wishes to wed Turandot must first answer her three riddles; if he fails, he will be beheaded. In the aria, Calaf expresses his triumphant assurance that he will win the princess.
Check out the lyrics:
None shall sleep! None shall sleep!
Not even you, oh Princess,
in your cold bedroom,
watching the stars
that tremble with love and with hope!
No one will know my name!
No, no! On your mouth,
I will say it when the light shines!
And my kiss will dissolve
the silence that makes you mine!
No one will know his name,
and we will have to, alas, die, die!
Vanish, o night!
Fade, you stars!
Fade, you stars!
At dawn, I will win!
I will win! I will win!
And Donald Trump did win the hand of his princess Melania, and perhaps he won even more.
Watch Mrs. Donald Trump explain the first dance to the song.
“I felt like it was just him and me,” Melania said. “He is a great dance and we danced very nicely.”
https://twitter.com/Gitmo33/status/1414911240632164353
For more songs from the soundtrack of Trump rallies:
