The estate of the late singer and poet Leonard Cohen disapproved of his 1984 song Hallelujah to be sung at the Freedom 250 Great American State Fair Rally in Washington D.C. on Wednesday.
On the Leonard Cohen Instagram page, his estate posted a statement saying “The Leonard Cohen Estate has learned that the song 'Hallelujah' is to be performed at a Donald Trump rally on June 24. This use is not authorized, and the Estate does not support or approve of this or any similar usage.”
American President Donald Trump paid no attention to the objection.
Opera singer Christopher Macchio, a musician often scheduled at Trump rallies, was joined by the Marine Band's Master Gunnery Sgt. Kevin Bennearsang to sing Hallelujah on the National Mall stage.
The song appeared to be interpreted for its religious reference, as their other performances included songs Nessun Dorma, Ave Maria and God Bless America.
View this post on Instagram
The Rally began as a 16-day-long celebration of 250 years of the United States.
It kicked off yesterday, the 24th of June with a political campaign-style approach with Donald Trump advocating his presidency. “As you know very well, a short time ago we were a dead country. We were dead. Now we’re the hottest country anywhere in the world. We’re respected by everybody. Nobody’s laughing at us any more,” he said on the stage.
After multiple artists such as Bret Michaels and Martina McBride pulled out of the MAGA event, Trump claimed he was “bigger than Elvis Presley.” He referred to himself as the “Number One Attraction anywhere in the World” in a social media post.
The Leonard Cohen Estate has taken legal action against the president before. In October 2024, it issued a cease-and-desist letter against him after he used Rufus Wainwright's cover of the same song in a rally during the time of the US Presidential Election.
In a statement, Wainwright had said "The song Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen has become an anthem dedicated to peace, love and acceptance of the truth…Witnessing Trump and his supporters commune with this music last night was the height of blasphemy.”
"Of course, I in no way condone this and was mortified, but the good in me hopes that perhaps in inhabiting and really listening to the lyrics of Cohen's masterpiece, Donald Trump just might experience a hint of remorse over what he's caused,” he wrote.
Leonard Cohen died in 2016 at the age of 82. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, Hallelujah has been performed by more than 300 singers across multiple languages and decades.
In a 2009 interview with The Guardian, Cohen spoke about the widely covered song that took him five years to write, saying “I think it’s a good song, but too many people sing it.”
The statement posted by Cohen’s estate concluded by writing “Thank you for your attention to this matter,” a reference to the president’s signature social media sign-off.
