Former President Donald Trump turned a town hall event in front of supporters in Oaks, Pennsylvania, into an impromptu listening party Monday night, playing an unlikely selection of tunes for nearly 40 minutes after the event was paused for medical emergencies.
Trump is famed for his lengthy and unorthodox political rallies, but none have followed such an unusual format, featuring the Republican nominee swaying along and occasionally punching the air to songs including the Village People’s “YMCA,” Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” and “Memory,” from the musical “Cats.”
The event was meant to be a Q&A focused on Trump’s policy platform, but during a pause while two people received medical attention, Trump told the crowd: “Let’s not do any more questions. Let’s just listen to music. Let’s make it into our music. Who the hell wants to hear questions? Right?”
Democratic nominee Kamala Harris said on her campaign’s X account that Trump rambled and “looked confused” on stage during the event.
Republican campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said on X the event showed “something special” was happening. “@realDonaldTrump is unlike any politician in history, and it’s great,” he said.
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Almost a half hour into the town hall event, Trump paused the event so someone in the audience could receive treatment. He praised the person as a “great patriot” and thanked the first responders.
During the lull, the crowd began to sing “God Bless America,” and then Trump asked his team if the loudspeakers could play “Ave Maria,” telling the crowd that he also played this at a rally earlier this month in Butler, Pennsylvania, in tribute to Corey Comperatore, the firefighter who was killed during an attempted assassination of Trump at a rally there in July.
As the person receiving attention was taken away on a stretcher, “Ave Maria” began blasting out of the speakers as requested.
Two minutes later, as Trump faced the fifth question of the night, another person became ill and the song played again.
After “Ave Maria,” sung by Luciano Pavarotti, had been played for a third time, the event then became more like a barroom karaoke session than a political event — albeit without the singing.
Then followed nine more songs, including hits by Elvis Presley, James Brown and Guns N’ Roses. Trump stood on stage throughout, swaying gently to the music and occasionally mouthing the words, before clapping and pointing at the audience after each track. The Trump campaign said 5,000 to 6,000 supporters were at the event.
There appeared to be some confusion over whether and when the event was ending. At one point Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota asked Trump on stage, “Do you want to play your song and then greet a few people?”
He replied: “How about a couple of really beauties, and we’ll sit down and relax,” before launching into an attack on Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden and stressing the importance of winning Pennsylvania next month.
Trump did not take part in making the “YMCA” letters with his arms, preferring a short dance in between shaking supporters’ hands, although Noem and many in the crowd did.
Trump asked supporters at another point, “Keep going? Keep going? Should we keep going? All right turn that music up, great song,” before the loudspeakers played Rufus Wainwright’s version of “Hallelujah,” a slow and melancholic ballad written by Leonard Cohen.
The Trump campaign later responded in greater length to the Harris campaign’s assertion that the event showed Trump was “confused” and “stood frozen and silent on stage as music played for 30+ minutes and the crowd poured out of the venue.”
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said the former president “has more energy and more stamina than anyone in politics, and is the smartest leader this country has ever seen.”
“He does multiple public events every single day and the public can see he is sharper and more focused than ever before because the future of America is at stake,” he said.
Trump supporter Cecilia Harkness, 68, from Chester County, said she “loved” the songs. “He’s just a regular guy that cares about the people. That’s the reaction I got. He truly cares about the people,” she said.
Other supporters were surprised by the event’s unexpected musical medley.
“It was my first Trump rally. It was a town hall, and I just think I did expect him to take more questions. I thought he would talk longer,” said Janice Bauer, who is in her 60s and from Montgomery County. “However, I still will vote for him. I think he’s a very good candidate. And I — the concert was great,” she added.
A national NBC News poll on Sunday put Trump and Harris neck and neck among registered voters, with three weeks to go until election day.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
