Panic! at the Disco frontman Brendon Urie’s high hopes for 2020 don’t include President Donald Trump getting reelected.
On Tuesday, the president used Panic! at the Disco’s 2018 hit “High Hopes” as a walk-on song at the Dream City Church in Phoenix. It was a somewhat ironic choice, as the song is already associated with former Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg, who had it played at events when he was still on the campaign trail.
Once Urie caught wind of the news, he demanded that Trump’s campaign stop playing the song in a strongly worded tweet.
In a follow-up tweet, Urie wrote that Trump “represents nothing we stand for,” and included a link to HeadCount, a nonpartisan group that “uses the power of music to register voters and promote participation in democracy,” according to the organization’s website.
Urie has never held back when it comes to Trump.
In 2018, he slammed the “fucking asshole” president for “encroaching on people’s rights” in an interview with British music outlet Kerrang.
Urie joins a growing list of artists and musicians ― including Adele, Rihanna and Elton John ― who’ve asked the president to refrain from playing their songs at rallies and other events.
Over the weekend, the family of late rocker Tom Petty demanded the Trump campaign stop using “I Won’t Back Down” after the 1989 hit was blasted at Trump’s Tulsa, Oklahoma, rally on Saturday.
“Both the late Tom Petty and his family firmly stand against racism and discrimination of any kind,” a statement from the Petty family read. “Tom Petty would never want a song of his used for a campaign of hate. He likes to bring people together.”