The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr slams use of the band's songs at Donald Trump's presidential rallies

The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr has slammed the use of one of the band's songs at a Donald Trump rally as the US presidential campaign continues.

Marr, aged 60, indicated on his X account that he would take action to stop the music being played at any future Trump rallies, though how he planned to do this is unclear from his post.

Marr made his comments in response to another X user sharing footage of a Trump rally, which was recorded in South Dakota in 2023, in which the Smiths song 'Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want' can be heard playing as the crowd waits for the controversial former president to come on stage.

“Ahh…right…OK,” Marr wrote in reply to the video. “I never in a million years would’ve thought this could come to pass. Consider this s**** shut right down right now.”

The Smiths’ music has reportedly been heard at multiple Trump rallies more recently too, including at his rally in Laconia, New Hampshire on Monday (January 22).

Marr's post received plenty of support from his followers and anti-Trump campaigners. One said: "We applaud you". Another simply said: "Good man." There were some, however, who were skeptical about Marr's influence. One person wrote: "I'd be surprised if Johnny has the power to stop it. Once music is licensed it's out there for people to use." Trump himself has not responded publicly to the post.

Marr has made his views on Trump known in the past, and has openly talked about his dislike for him - even saying his views inspired his music. For his 2018 solo album "Call The Comet", Marr said he wrote about a part-utopian “alternative society” that “resets the ridiculousness of the last few years”, with no Trump, no Brexit and a replenished ecosystem.

Marr is also not the only artist who has expressed a dislike for Trump using their work. Musicians including Adele, the Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, the Rolling Stones, Queen, Pharrell Williams and the estates of Prince and David Bowie have previously objected to Trump playing their music at public events.

Marr has also spoken out against rightwing politics and politicians who say they are fans of The Smiths in the UK. In 2010, Marr reacted to praise from the then prime minister David Cameron, Marr wrote on X: “Stop saying that you like The Smiths, no you don’t. I forbid you to like it.” He later wrote in his memoir: “Anyone who was a fan would know we were against everything he and the Conservative party stood for."