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2024 Election

Anderson Cooper Weirded Out After Realizing Trump Is Playing 'Phantom Of The Opera' At Rally

The CNN host interrupted reporter Kyung Lah during her coverage of Trump's rally in South Dakota after recognizing Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical score playing in the background.

CNN screenshot of Anderson Cooper; Donald Trump
CNN; JNI/Star Max/GC Images

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper was noticeably weirded out during a live report from a Trump rally in South Dakota when he identified the soundtrack playing in the background as The Phantom of the Opera.

Cooper's recognition of perhaps composer Andrew Lloyd Webber's most famous work prompted him to ask reporter Kyung Lah if it was indeed the Phantom soundtrack, to which Lah confirmed he was indeed correct.

You can see what happened in the video below.

See Anderson Cooper’s reaction to Trump’s unusual rally soundtrackwww.youtube.com

Trump has a known affinity for the Phantom cast album, as reported by MSNBC and based on a book by Trump's former White House press secretary, Stephanie Grisham.

But Webber has not always been pleased with Trump's use of his music at political rallies and actually sent a cease-and-desist letter to Trump regarding the use of the song "Memory" from Webber's production of Cats.

Additionally, Webber asked Trump not to attend the opening night of his show School of Rock in 2016, emphasizing that it should be about the young performers, not the former president's attendance.

Footage of the moment Cooper had his realization also had social media users scratching their head at Trump's musical choices.



The rally CNN reported on at the time was held in South Dakota, where Trump picked up an endorsement from the state's Republican Governor Kristi Noem.

The rally was the first large-scale event held by the Trump campaign since Trump's fourth indictment last month, this one related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state of Georgia.

Trump suggested he is being politically persecuted, telling attendees that his opponents are "destroying our country" and casting himself as the common sense decision for 2024, saying "we’re not going to have a country left" if people don't vote for him.