Photo via The Independent

Trump shares his Air Force One playlist with reporters: ‘I want to make you happy’

Read the original at The Independent ↗
Cite

Scott, O. (2026, September 15). Trump shares his Air Force One playlist with reporters: ‘I want to make you happy’. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-air-force-one-playlist-b3049811.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Independent · collected 2026-09-15 · by Owen Scott

Quick Summary

President Trump shared a personal playlist with reporters on Air Force One around 10 p.m. on Sunday, including songs like Dolly Parton’s Jolene and ABBA’s Fernando. He personally selected these tracks to ensure the press felt “happy.” The playlist titled "APPROVED RALLY PLAYLIST" also included other popular hits such as Cat Stevens’ Wild World and Guns N' Roses’ November Rain. However, several artists have protested the use of their music at Trump events in the past.
Written by AI on 2026-09-15, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On Sunday evening, President Donald Trump shared his personal playlist with reporters on Air Force One, stating he wanted to make them "happy." The selection included hits like Dolly Parton's "Jolene," ABBA’s "Fernando," Luciano Pavarotti's Nessun Dorma, The Who’s Baba O'Riley, and even the entrance music for WWE wrestler Undertaker. After playing the songs, Trump personally checked in with reporters to ensure they enjoyed the musical choices. He confirmed that he picked all the songs himself, emphasizing his desire to please the press. This unusual interaction occurred just before 10 p.m., highlighting an unexpected and somewhat surreal moment during a presidential trip.

Written for “Trump Air Force One Playlist” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Trump Air Force One Playlist
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
25
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
12%
3 of 25 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
59/100
The Independent's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-15 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Independent · 3503 article(s) · 8 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 8 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Owen Scott
84 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction
🔮 In her motion, Hutt suggested that the pause would be effective for 45 days but could even be extended for a year.
🔮 “Seeing a passenger jet flying low overhead here would be quite a bad sign!
🔮 Hinton added: “The fact that I couldn’t wake up this morning to my baby, it really tore me up.”
🔮 Trump has previously stated that he will accept the midterm results, under one condition.
🔮 “She came up to me and my coworker, Elijah, with a stroller,” assistant manager Jarayya Mayes told Fox 5 Atlanta.
🔮 William “Stone” Romberg, a beach hospitality manager who worked in Florida’s panhandle, was killed on Sunday as he swam out to untangle the bird from his lure after casting it near an inlet in the Panama City Beach area.
🔮 President Donald Trump has warned a federal judge that he will hold her personally responsible if anyone dies on a “highly dangerous” golf course he wants renovated.
🔮 Currently, the GOP controls both the House and the Senate, but some polls have shown that the Democratic Party could flip the balance of power in Congress.
🔮 During his show, Maher said that Trump had the “lowest approval rating of any midterm candidate ever,” poked fun at the president’s comments about Senator Jon Husted’s body and asked Leavitt what Trump could be like during the “lame-duck” phase of his presidency.
🔮 A DOGE affiliate who oversaw the firing of thousands of federal employees and ended USAID may not have had the authority to do so, according to a report.
Also by Owen Scott
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 84 articles by Owen Scott →

Topics

ABBA Air Force One The Telegraph The Who Undertaker

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 13× ABBA ORG · 4× Dolly PERSON · 3× Luciano Pavarotti PERSON · 2× Baba O'Riley PERSON · 1× Dolly Parton’s PERSON · 1× Luciano Pavarotti’s PERSON · 1× The Telegraph ORG · 1× The Who ORG · 1× Undertaker ORG · 1×

Narrative

Nicoletta Mantovani Pavarotti, the singer’s widow, and his three daughters told The New York Times that “the values of brotherhood and solidarity which Luciano Pavarotti expressed throughout the course of his artistic career are entirely incompatible with the worldview offered by the candidate Donald Trump.”
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-15

Claims (25 extracted, 3 hedged)

President Trump shared his personal playlist with reporters on Air Force One, telling the journalists that he wanted to make them “happy.” asserted
them → share → journalists
The surreal moment took place just before 10 p.m. on Sunday, after officials working with the president asked members of the press if they wanted to hear songs chosen by Trump while he worked. asserted
he → take → Trump
According to a journalist with The Telegraph, reporters were treated to the late Dolly Parton’s smash hit Jolene, ABBA’s legendary love song Fernando, Luciano Pavarotti’s Nessun Dorma, Baba O'Riley by The Who and even the Undertaker’s WWE entrance music. uncertain
reporters → accord → Who
Eventually, Trump ventured down the presidential jet’s press cabin to ask members of the press about the music. “I want to make sure everyone is okay with the music, right?” Trump asked. asserted
Trump → venture → music
“We loved it, Mr President,” someone replied. asserted
someone → love → it
I’m only back here… asserted
I → ’m → ?
I gave you a press conference before we got on. asserted
we → give → conference
The music’s great, right?” the president said. asserted
president → ’ → ?
Upon being asked if he chose the songs himself, Trump said: “Yes, I picked myself. asserted
I → ask → myself
I want to make you happy, so I’m playing wonderful music, happy music.” asserted
I → want → music
According to a White House press pool report, the songs had been played through a large speaker and were featured on a playlist entitled: “APPROVED RALLY PLAYLIST.” Other songs featured on the playlist included Lesley Gore’s You Don’t Own Me, Wild World by Cat Stevens, Losing My Religion by REM and November Rain by Guns N' Roses. uncertain
You → accord → Guns
Speaking to reporters, Trump mused on Parton’s recent death and his own thoughts on music. asserted
Trump → speak → music
“Dolly was the greatest,” he said. asserted
he → say → ?
“That was a sad moment when Dolly left us. asserted
Dolly → leave → us
We have a lot of Dolly songs on there.” asserted
We → have → songs
Trump added, “I love music; I love good music. asserted
I → add → music
That’s what keeps me happy. asserted
what → ’ → me
My life..it’s a very interesting thing, but I love music. asserted
I → ’ → music
Several of the artists on Trump’s playlist have denounced the use of their songs by the 47th president. asserted
Several → denounce → president
Following an August 2024 event in which Trump’s campaign played Dancing Queen, The Winner Takes It All and Money, Money, Money, ABBA demanded that his team stop using their music. asserted
team → follow → music
“Together with the members of Abba, we have discovered that videos have been released where Abba’s music/videos has been used at Trump events, and we have therefore requested that such use be immediately taken down and removed,” a spokesperson for Universal Music told The Guardian. asserted
spokesperson → discover → Guardian
The family of late opera star Luciano Pavarotti also protested the use of the tenor’s Nessun Dorma by Trump’s campaign in 2016. asserted
family → protest → 2016
Nicoletta Mantovani Pavarotti, the singer’s widow, and his three daughters told The New York Times that “the values of brotherhood and solidarity which Luciano Pavarotti expressed throughout the course of his artistic career are entirely incompatible with the worldview offered by the candidate Donald Trump.” asserted
Pavarotti → tell → candidate
Trump is infamous for playing his favorite songs at his rallies, but sources told Axios in 2024 that the now-president is also nicknamed “DJ T” by regulars at his Mar-a-Lago resort due to his tight control over the music played at the luxurious club’s dining patio. asserted
president → play → patio
Reportedly, Trump alone controls the volume of the music as he plays a range of songs, including hits from Broadway musicals, such as Jesus Christ Superstar and The Phantom of the Opera. uncertain
he → control → Opera
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support