Five songs that helped shape presidential campaigns

2016 – “GOD BLESS THE USA” – Donald Trump

Lee Greenwood recorded “God Bless the USA” in 1984, at the height of Ronald Reagan’s popularity, and the song became instantly recognized as a Republican Party espousal of pride and patriotism. It was used as part of almost every Republican campaign since then, perhaps never more effectively than by Donald Trump in his 2016 successful run for the presidency.

Successful Republican candidates had never had much luck straying too far away from traditional country and Americana songs, and Trump leaned heavily into Greenwood’s chorus – “And I’m proud to be an American – Where at least I know I’m free – And I won’t forget the men who died – Who gave that right to me…” before hitting the title tag line at the end of the chorus.

Though some critics pointed out that Trump once boasted of being too smart to have to serve in the Viet Nam War, any perceived hypocrisy didn’t seem to hurt him in the polls in 2016. Though he has used other songs at rallies in subsequent campaigns, “God Bless the USA” has remained a staple.

One final note: when choosing five of the best presidential campaign songs, I confined myself to songs that were associated with winning campaigns. That means I did not have room for my absolute favorite marriage of candidate and song.

In 1992, while Bill Clinton was blasting Fleetwood Mac all over the place, Independent candidate Ross Perot used the country classic “Crazy,” written by Willie Nelson and made famous by Patsy Cline, at his rallies. The song perfectly captured Perot’s quirky, oddball sense of humor while also appealing to conservatives and liberals alike. Though he had no chance of winning, Perot ran one of the most successful third-party campaigns ever and is credited by some as opening the door for Bill Clinton to take the election.

Soon, we will see if Beyonce can have a similar impact to any of these iconic presidential campaign songs.

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