On Thursday afternoon, President Trump signed the Music Modernization Act (a bill aimed at getting songwriters, publishers, and producers fairer pay) into law, and he did so surrounded by a who’s who of his very best rock and country friends. To his left was Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers’ Jeff Baxter (dude with the killer ’stache); to his right was John Rich of Big & Rich (“he happened to win the Apprentice, but we won’t get into that,†Trump said). Also there were Kid Rock, the Beach Boys’ Mike Love, Christian band MercyMe, Craig Morgan, Grammy president Neil Portnow, [insert white man here], plus Sam & Dave’s Sam Moore, and exactly one woman, Senator Moore Capito. (Modern music, everybody!)
“Certain entertainers have been taken advantage of but no longer, because of Trump, can you believe it?†Trump, uh, “joked†at the signing. Meanwhile, Love credited Trump as a “longtime supporter of some of the best music America’s ever made,†who apparently “tried [his] best to get Whitney Houston in some kind of shape.†(We have many questions, too.) Kanye West was expected to attend the signing but was a no-show, instead meeting afterward with Trump and Jared Kushner for some lunchtime schmoozing at the White House. Rewatch the whole thing below.