What are the Panama Playlists? The songs that Donald Trump officials can’t get enough of
Any two-bit fascist knows that a key method in stripping away the rights and freedoms of any society is to try and humanise the oppressors; to give a cuddly face to those whose boots are forever stomping on the marginalised and vulnerable. “Look, Adolf Hitler likes dogs, he’s just like you or I.”
At this point in time, it seems as though everybody in Donald Trump’s administration has completely abandoned any hope of aligning themselves with the majority of ordinary American citizens. What with the farcical attempted cover-up of the Jeffrey Epstein files, and the continued efforts to black-bag and disappear anybody with a darker skin tone than Karoline Leavitt, it is fair to say that the administration has got its hands full – we are well past the point of asking Trump how much a pint of milk costs, or promo videos of him using the subway.
Still, it is worth remembering that the people in Trump’s inner ring are – or, at least, once were – regular people. So, when they’re not whiling away their time deporting innocent people or suppressing journalists, the likes of Pam Bondi, JD Vance, and even Ron ‘Pudding’ DeSantis all kick back and listen to their favourite tunes. After all, everybody needs music in their lives, even the architects of a fascist regime.
Nevertheless, the simple act of listening to music isn’t quite as easy for the Trump administration as everybody else. Throughout the Republican’s reign, he has been routinely hit with cease-and-desist orders from various musicians – including everybody from Isaac Hayes to Jack White – asking him to stop using their music. So, what can Republican politicians still listen to with a clear conscience?
In answer to this question, an anonymous website named the Panama Playlists has sprung up in recent months. With a title harking back to the Panama Papers, which exposed the murky financial dealings of various politicians and public figures back in 2016, the Panama Playlists claims to expose the music listening habits of notable figures, including those currently in government in the US, like Attorney General Pam Bondi, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, and Vice President JD Vance.
You can tell a lot about a person from their Spotify playlists, and there is definitely something to be gained from delving into the listening habits of the US Government – if nothing else, it is a truly bizarre experience. According to the site, Pam Bondi’s listening habits include an odd mix of Selena Gomez, Adele, and Rick Astley, among various others.
But wait, it gets much worse. Karoline Leavitt, for instance, apparently goes home after a long day of calling for the deportation of US citizens to camps in El Salvador, and desperately covering up for her boss and his ties to the most notorious child sex trafficker in history, and sticks on Beyoncé’s ‘Run The World (Girls)’, Cyndia Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’, and, perhaps most offensively, Aretha Franklin’s ‘Respect’.
Meanwhile, JD Vance’s choices are almost as devoid of any personality as the man himself. Top picks for the man who has a special affinity for couches include Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky’ and Justin Bieber’s ‘One Time’, along with the One Direction classic ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ and Backstreet Boys’ ‘I Want It That Way’, I suppose even Vice Presidents aren’t free from the allure of boybands.
There are many other strange revelations included in the Panama Playlists, including Ron DeSantis’s appreciation of ‘Party in the USA’ by Miley Cyrus, or that Trump’s 2024 campaign manager almost exclusively listens to John Williams’ film scores. Although there is a plethora of much more damning evidence out there surrounding all of these figures, their exposition of their day-to-day listening habits is strangely fascinating – like seeing a dog watch the television; ‘He thinks he’s people.’
