Moments before supporters of President Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol building Wednesday, the president and his team were dancing along to Laura Branigan's '80s pop hit "Gloria." Video of the festive atmosphere, which occurred ahead of the president's speech at a rally prior to the events that unfolded later in the day, has since gone viral on social media, drawing condemnation.
In the video, which appears to have been recorded by the president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., the president, both of his sons, daughter Ivanka Trump, advisor Kimberly Guilfoyle, and other senior officials, including White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, can be seen in a backstage tent observing the gathered crowd. "Gloria" can be heard blasting, with Guilfoyle even doing a little dancing. The video was recorded moments before the president took the stage in a speech that has since been widely condemned for inciting violence at the Capitol building.
"We will never give up; we will never concede," the president told the crowd. "We will stop the steal. We're going to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue, and we're going to the Capitol…We're going to try and give our Republicans, the weak ones…the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country."
The use of "Gloria" has since been slammed online, with Branigan's manager, Kathy Golik, tweeting "it's absolutely appalling to hear 'Gloria' being played in the background…given the tragic, unsettling, & shameful happenings that occurred at the US Capitol." Golik added in a second tweet, "it's very sad & upsetting to see Laura's beautiful memory & legacy have any association [with] Pres. Trump & such a dark day in US history. Neither Laura nor her music, deserve any unwarranted fallout due to the actions of others." She also added that "no permission" was granted to the president or his team to use the song. Many on social media felt similar outrage, with the clip quickly going viral in the aftermath of the storming of the Capitol.