Source : PERTHNOW NEWS
President Donald Trump has paid tribute to the Village People’s Victor Willis following his death, while boasting he made Y.M.C.A. a “monster hit again” by using the song at his rallies.
The singer – one of the founding members of the disco group – passed away after a “short but aggressive illness”.
His death was announced on Facebook as his family posted a brief statement which read: “We are profoundly sad to announce the death of VICTOR WILLIS, lead singer of Village People.
“Victor passed on Monday June 30, 2026 of a short but aggressive illness. Privacy is requested.”
In the wake of the news, President Trump took to Truth Social to praise Victor as a “great and happy guy who loved that I used his groups song, YMCA, at my Rallies”.
Trump, 80, posted: “Village People singer Victor Willis is dead at 74. He was a great and happy guy who loved that I used his groups song, YMCA, at my Rallies. It became a ‘monster’ hit, again, 30 years after its original launch.
“Many singers and groups wanted to get on board at the Rallies after all of the Rally Attendance Records were set – The crowds were, and are, enormous – But Victor and the group was there for us right from the beginning! They loved the action, and we loved them and their great and uplifting song.”
Trump insisted that Victor would live on his mind and heart every time he plays Y.M.C.A. in the future, beginning with the Independence Day celebrations this weekend.
He continued: “We will think of Victor every time YMCA is played, like today, and all throughout this July Fourth Birthday week. My condolences to his wonderful family and group, Victor Willis will be sorely missed, God Bless Him!!!”
Despite initially urging Trump to stop using the Village People songs Y.M.C.A. and Macho Man at his rallies, due to him receiving “over a thousand” fan complaints which became a “nuisance”, Victor eventually endorsed the president’s penchant for the tracks, in particular YMCA.
In 2024, Willis said: “Trump seems to genuinely like Y.M.C.A. and he’s having a lot of fun with it.”
The singer also admitted that Trump’s adoption of the song as the soundtrack to his rallies had meant him earning a lot of money from the 1978 single.
He said: “The financial benefits have been great as well as Y.M.C.A. is estimated to gross several million dollars since the President Elect’s continued use of the song.”
Following Trump’s use of Y.M.C.A. the song went to Number 1 on the Billboard chart after over 45 years.
In January 2025, the Village People even performed at Trump’s Make America Great Again Victory Rally at the Capitol One Arena in Washington when he was elected to the White House for a second time.
The use of the Village People track by Trump drew much criticism from the LGBTQ+ community as the group’s most famous song Y.M.C.A. was interpreted as championing the reputation of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) as a hook-up spot for homosexual men.
Willis – who co-wrote the song with Jacques Morali, who was gay – always denied the track was penned as a gay anthem but was proud that the community had adopted the song.
