Singer-songwriter Oliver Anthony went viral last month with his working-class anthem “Rich Men North of Richmond.”
Now, it appears that the overnight musical sensation has earned a famous fan–and perhaps a kindred spirit.
On Tuesday, a TikTok user posted a 53-second video of former President Donald Trump jamming to Anthony’s hit song.
WARNING: The following video contains vulgar language that some viewers may find offensive.
The brief clip showed the former president surrounded by onlookers with smart phones. Trump appeared to press a button on his iPad, at which point the music began.
“This guy was in a bus. Now he’s in a plane,” Trump said into a microphone as the song played. No doubt he meant that Anthony had gone from total obscurity to instant success.
When they recognized the song, several onlookers yelled with approval.
“Yeahhhhh!”
“Woooooo!”
Those who stood closest to Trump appeared focused on the president, but many others sang along.
Even Trump began waving his hands like an orchestral conductor and smiling. The former president then bobbed his head a few times and moved back and forth to the music.
“Rich Men North of Richmond” opens as a protest against workaday life.
I’ve been sellin’ my soul, workin’ all day
Overtime hours for bull**** pay
So I can sit out here and waste my life away
Drag back home and drown my troubles away
As it unfolds, however, the song targets its titular villains: Washington D.C. politicians.
These rich men north of Richmond
Lord knows they all just wanna have total control
Wanna know what you think, wanna know what you do
And they don’t think you know, but I know that you do
The combination of working-class anguish and anti-establishment rage made the song a worldwide phenomenon. “Rich Men North of Richmond” topped both U.S. and global music charts in August.
WARNING: The following video contains vulgar language that some viewers may find offensive.
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Meanwhile, Anthony has insisted that he did not intend “Rich Men North of Richmond” for any particular political audience. When Fox News played the song at the first Republican presidential debate, Anthony laughed at the irony and noted that he had written the song about the people on the debate stage, as well as many others.
It is worth noting, of course, that Trump skipped that first debate.
Likewise, Anthony’s overall behavior has made it clear why so many conservative populists have helped fuel his ascent.
For one thing, Anthony has talked openly about his Christian faith and has opened multiple concerts with Scripture readings.
Anthony’s choice of interviews also no doubt has endeared him to anti-establishment conservatives.
First, he carried his gospel message onto non-believer Joe Rogan’s podcast. Then, he sat down for a nearly two-hour conversation with legendary conservative psychologist Jordan Peterson of The Daily Wire.
Both Rogan and Peterson have enormous audiences. More important, both have incurred the wrath of the establishment.
Here Anthony’s appeal to Trump and Trump supporters makes plenty of sense.
While the billionaire former president knows nothing of financial struggles from personal experience, he nonetheless has forged a remarkable connection with his working-class base, many of whom regard him as the most authentic political figure of their lifetime.
For eight years, those supporters have seethed while a corrupt establishment sold its collective soul to Satan in an effort to undermine Trump at all costs.
“Rich Men North of Richmond,” therefore, is really a song about Trump’s enemies.
With the possible exception of Democratic presidential candidate and frequent establishment target Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., perhaps no political figure can understand the song’s meaning and resonance as well as Trump does.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
