The Wretched in the White House

Under the eyes of the US President, the participants at the Governors' Ball sit captivated at their banquets. Some of the singing soldiers approach the smartphone capturing the entire scene. The look of one singer does not quite reveal what is happening here. On Yahoo, it is later read that the song selection has caused confusion on social media. Yet also cheer and disappointment. While some believed the choir chose the song in protest, others pointed out that Trump had already played a song from Les Miserables at campaign events in 2016 and 2024.

The title of the book underpinning the musical Les Miserables refers directly to the existential needs of marginalized populations in 19th-century France. The numerous characters appearing in the novel show the reader how structural violence deforms individual biographies. The Paris June Uprisings of 1832, which take up significant space in the novel, become a cipher for the struggle against a system that systematically produces poverty.

One might almost believe the U.S. Army Chorus is setting an example under the eyes of the US President. After all, he will one day be responsible for everything the various French revolutions have sought to overcome since 1789. The betrayal of the ideals of the European Enlightenment by the US Vice President at the Munich Security Conference is my witness. Did Emmanuel Macron remind Trump during his visit to Washington yesterday of the significance Victor Hugo's work holds for French self-understanding?

On February 14, 2025, I had the unique experience of seeing Les Miserables live in Amsterdam; at one of the few dates of "The Arena Spectacular" by the London ensemble with Milan van Waardenburg as part of their 2025 world tour.

Just over a week later, the U.S. Army Chorus sings Les Miserables at the White House, performing the title "One Day More." The singers in uniform march with firm posture at the Governors' Ball 2025 and sing one of the highlights of the musical.

In the song, all the protagonists come together and sing of another day that will hold another fate for everyone. A day that, in its own way, promises infinity for each. Tomorrow will be the day when God in heaven will show what he has planned for the individual.

Unfortunately, this was not a protest, as clever meme producers prepared for social media. I only became aware of it through a reel on Instagram. It features the video with a text layer noting that protest happens in many different ways. It spontaneously brought tears to my eyes. I still have the musical in my bones since Amsterdam, and as a connoisseur of the novel, I know the significance of the scene in the musical.

Numerous voices contradict the protest note as well. It is simply wishful thinking. As mentioned above, "Shitler from Clownface," as he was called in a post from Bluesky, made use of the song "Do You Hear the People Sing?" at campaign appearances. That alone was enough reason to write this vignette. Because the misery in the White House has nothing to do with the misery that Victor Hugo wrote on the body of his wretched ones years before its publication in 1862. The actual protest must therefore be to advocate for Les Miserables and give POTUS a massive kick. All that remains for me, however, is to join the lines of Cameron Mackintosh. He produces the musical in London and remarked already in 2016 in The Guardian as follows.

The authors of Les Misérables were not asked for permission and neither authorized nor endorsed the use of "Do You Hear the People Sing?" at the Trump rally in Miami [at that time], and have never done so for any of the songs from the musical for this or any other political event.

I conclude by noting that this comment applies to everything this postmodern clown adopts from the book and the musical. And with that, I really conclude now.