The U.S. Army Choir performed “Do You Hear the People Sing?” from “Les Misérables” at the 2025 White House Governors Ball Saturday night — a choice that sparked confusion and mockery on social media.
The president, who is said to be a fan of the musical, and his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, were both in attendance at the event. As one person put it on Bluesky, “It is clear S–tler Von Clownface thinks the song represents him.”
The song choice prompted confusion, cheers and disappointment on social media. While some believed the choir chose the song as a form of protest, others pointed out that Trump previously played the song at 2016 and 2024 campaign events, indicating that he is just a fan an unaware of the irony that it’s a protest song against tyranny.
“I think the idea the Army Choir was trolling Trump is wishful thinking,” wrote activist Zach Brand-Wiita on Bluesky. “I love ‘Les Mis’ and it’s a much more progressive story than people realize, but it’s also big and bombastic and over-the-top romanticism schmaltz — the kind of stuff Trump loves. Sorry, this was just them singing a popular song.”
Author Ana Visneski, pictured above, agreed. “So, as much as I would like to think the Army choir singing ‘Les Mis’ was done in protest, the reality is that the song list had to be approved,” she wrote on the same platform. “Also it is clear S–tler Von Clownface thinks the song represents him and his followers — he got in trouble for using the music in 2016.”
Dan Scavino, White House Deputy Chief of Staff, clearly thought the performance was a positive one. “It was a great honor to attend this evenings Governors Ball at the @WhiteHouse, hosted by @FLOTUS Melania and @POTUS @realDonaldTrump —thank you!” he wrote.
Congressman Jim McGovern was quick to respond, apparently incorrectly: “They picked ‘Les Mis’—a musical about standing up to tyranny. They protested you at your own event and you were too stupid to get it.”
In 2016 The Guardian reported the producer and co-creators of the musical released a joint statement after Trump played the song at a campaign event. “The authors of ‘Les Misérables’ were not asked for permission and did not authorise or endorse usage of ‘Do You Hear the People Sing?’ at last [week’s] Trump rally in Miami, and have never done so for any of the songs from the musical for this or any other political event,” they said.
“As the musical’s popularity and universal message have been part of international popular culture for more than 30 years now, countless political and social movements around the world, including the first Bill Clinton and Obama campaigns, have independently embraced songs from the musical as a rallying cry for their own cause,” the group concluded.
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