Republican Candidates’ ‘Songs That Stir Their Soul’ Giving Boring Mixed With Irony

Inspired by a challenge originally prompted on Twitter, Politico recently emailed all of the 2024 Presidential candidates asking for their top 20 songs. You are supposed to list 20 songs that speak to your soul and not repeat artists. Some responded with fewer than 20, some didn’t respond at all, and some didn’t stick to the one-per-artist rule, but I will critique what was given.

Let me preface this by saying I listen to all kinds of music. I literally just worked on two playlists in my Apple Music catalog, adding some Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix to my “classic rock” playlist and some Lil Uzi Vert and Latto to my “rap1” playlist. I am a classically trained cellist. So there’s that. I do not judge based on genre alone. I am prepared to judge based on the songs specifically—not just how they sound, but what they say about the candidate. And what does the totality of their list look like?

Let me start with Chris Christie. The former New Jersey governor obviously included a Bruce Springsteen track, “Thunder Road.” Springsteen is a New Jersey legend so that makes sense. I’m not a personal fan of Springsteen’s, but this was pretty much a requirement for Christie. Some of my favorite songs sonically on his list are “Let’s Go Crazy” by Prince, “Tiny Dancer” by Elton John, and “Roxanne” by the Police. Elton is an interesting choice considering the culture wars Christie’s party are currently engaged in, though Christie isn’t the most outwardly bigoted person running (low bar). Overall, he has one person of color on his list of 20. Not shocking and might be helpful for gaining primary voters truthfully.

Nikki Haley also submitted a full list. Kudos for rule following! Some highlights for me sonically are “Jolene” by Dolly Parton and “Call Me” by Blondie. Her inclusion of “Take Me To Church” by Hozier is very intriguing and may appeal to Republican voters who (possibly like Haley) haven’t actually listened to the song’s lyrics and don’t realize that this song is about being closest to God while making love, not in the typical church-going sense. Also, Hozier has explicitly stated that he was intentionally attacking the anti-gay stance of many organized religions and the Catholic Church in particular with this song and music video. But hey! It’s catchy. And it has “church” in the title. A winner in Republicans’ eyes.

Overall, Haley’s tastes are questionable. She has what is perhaps the WORST submission of any candidate: “Fast Car” by LUKE COMBS. The audacity to include the Combs cover of this song is just so … Republican. Tracy Chapman, a black queer woman, originally crafted this masterpiece. So of course Haley included the mediocre white-guy version. BIG FAIL. 

Resident unqualified douche, Vivek Ramaswamy, submitted eight songs. Obviously, there’s “Lose Yourself” by Eminem. Bold choice since the legendary rapper has come out asking Vivek to stop playing his music. Eminem is famously not a fan of Republicans. Vivek has two Imagine Dragons songs which is like, really? I like them but come on. When 25% of your “songs that speak to your soul” are from Imagine Dragons, out of any artist ever, I am going to question you.

The choice that stood out the most to me in Ramaswamy’s list is “Rondo Alla Turca” by Mozart. First off, I love classical music; I stated above that I am a cellist. Mozart is a classical genius. But we ALL know Ramaswamy only included this to seem like a pompous jerk. Sorry! It just fits within the context of his personality. And as a Mozart fan, I can confidently say that if you listen to the actual piece, it sonically kind of sounds like an annoying frat guy running up to every girl on campus and being shooed away. But he’s so proud that he tried!

The other candidates who submitted lists aren’t really worth mentioning in full. I just don’t take them that seriously as candidates. Not that Ramaswamy is serious but his popularity is, somehow. But my favorite from Will Hurd (literally who?) is “Survivor” by Destiny’s Child. I love his spirit even though his campaign has no chance of survival. I will say that his overall list is quite diverse, in terms of genres and racial representation. Asa Hutchinson’s most fascinating song choice is “Get the Party Started” by Pink, which I couldn’t even type without laughing out loud. The fact that this 72-year-old man even knows a Pink song is wild to me. But this song of all of the choices available is a doozie. Maybe Asa is a party animal at heart! It certainly wasn’t showing during that first debate!

(featured image: Win McNamee/Getty Images)