What is it Good for? Protest Music in the Age of Trump
Tuesday, Nov 11, 2025
1:30pm - 3:30pm
Lecture by:
Darren Mulloy
Donald Trump’s use of music at his public events has attracted the ire—and law suits—of numerous artists from Abba to the White Stripes. His now two presidencies have also elicited a range of protest songs against him, including from Arcade Fire, Public Enemy, Carol King and Fiona Apple. Overall, though, the musical protests against him have been less numerous and certainly less high-profile than those produced in previous highly-contested moments in American history. Think of the presidency of George W. Bush, for example. Why is this? And what does the history of American protest music overall, tell us about the impact and effectiveness of musically-engaged political activism. Covering musicians from Woody Guthrie to Eminem, Darren Mulloy explores these questions while playing (loudly) some notable examples of some of the songs under discussion.
About Darren Mulloy
Darren Mulloy
Darren Mulloy is a professor of History at Wilfrid Laurier University, where specialises in the teaching of post-1945 American history. He is the author, most recently, of Years of Rage: White Supremacy in the United States from the Klan to the Alt-Right (2021) and Enemies of the State: The Radical Right in America From FDR to Trump (2018), which one disgruntled right-wing Amazon reviewer said should be “thrown into a dumpster.” Originally from the UK, Mulloy has also taught in the U.S., and became a proud Canadian citizen in 2015.