Rage Against the Machine Knew About Donald Trump’s Presidential Run Back in 1999
Rage Against the Machine were many things, including a kick-ass rock 'n' roll band and one of the most politically charged groups of the past quarter century. But apparently they were also able to predict the future. Who knew?
As our sister site Loudwire points out in the above video, the Los Angeles-based band, which broke up in 2000, included a spooky bit of foreshadowing in its 1999 music video for the song "Sleep Now in the Fire."
In the clip, which was directed by the equally rabble-rousing Michael Moore, the band takes over the New York Stock Exchange as singer Zack de la Rocha sings about inhumanity throughout U.S. history, starting with Christopher Columbus' fateful trip in 1492 and carrying it over to modern times: "I am the Nina, the Pinta, the Santa Maria / The noose and the rapist, the fields overseer / The agents of orange."
Take a close look at one scene, and you'll spot a businessman sporting a sign declaring "Donald J. Trump for President 2000." It took 15 years for anyone to take the real-estate mogul and TV personality seriously, but it looks like Rage Against the Machine were wary of the prospect back when everyone else was worrying about Y2K. (Trump did try to snag the Reform Party's vote back in 2000, but he lost out to Pat Buchanan.)
The band was undoubtedly mocking a political system that would even consider someone like Trump a serious candidate. These days, other rockers are taking jabs at the presidential hopeful -- from Don Henley to Roger Waters to Neil Young -- as his run for the White House picks up steam.
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This Day in Rock History: October 22
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