Barack Obama rapped Eminem’s signature hit ‘Lose Yourself’ to a crowd in Detroit during a campaign rally for Kamala Harris on Tuesday.
Obama opened his speech by saying: “I gotta say, I have done a lot of rallies, so I don’t usually get nervous, but I was feeling some kind of way following Eminem.” before segueing into Lose Yourself’s opening lines:
“I notice my palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy, vomit on my sweater already, mom’s spaghetti, I’m nervous but on the surface I look calm and ready to drop bombs but I keep on forgetting.”
He joked that he thought Eminem would be performing and he would be a guest star, adding: “Love me some Eminem.”
The former president is an avowed music fan, sharing his favourite songs twice a year in official posts on his social media. Summer 2024’s selections included songs by contemporary pop names such as Beyoncé, Tyla and Rema alongside older tracks by Nick Drake, the Supremes and cosmic jazz musician Pharoah Sanders.
Obama went on to excoriate Donald Trump in his speech, recalling how Trump expressed doubt about the election results in 2020. “Because Donald Trump was willing to spread lies about voter fraud in Michigan, protesters came down, banged on the windows, shouting, ‘Let us in. Stop the count.’ Poll workers inside being intimidated … all because Donald Trump couldn’t accept losing … there is absolutely no evidence that this man thinks about anybody but himself.”
He questioned Trump’s mental fitness for the role of president, saying: “You’d be worried if Grandpa was acting like this. But this is coming from someone who wants unchecked power.”
Earlier, Eminem told the crowd in his home city, “It’s important to use your voice, I’m encouraging everyone to get out and vote, please … I don’t think anyone wants an America where people are worried about retribution of what people will do if you make your opinion known. I think vice-president Harris supports a future for this country where these freedoms and many others will be protected and upheld.”
Tim Walz, also speaking at the rally, decried the stunt as “cosplaying … Fake orders for fake customers”. He also appealed to freedom of speech, saying Trump was “talking about sending the military against people who don’t support him. He’s naming names.”
Musicians who banned presidential candidates from using their songs “Love me some Eminem,” he said.
Obama is a known music fan and regularly releases lists of his favorite tracks.
But his Tuesday appearance was, of course, all about politics as presidential candidates Harris and former President Donald Trump and their surrogates travel the country in the final days ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
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