How Does Elton John Feel About His Superfan Donald Trump? It's Complicated

Elton John and Donald Trump were friendly once. In fact, Trump invited John to perform at his and Melania's wedding in 2005 and the former accepted the gig. When John and his longtime partner, David Furnish, finally tied the knot in 2014, Trump publicly congratulated them in a since-deleted blog post, writing: "If two people dig each other, they dig each other. Good luck, Elton. Good luck, David. Have a great life (via The New York Times). Former Trump aides told The New York Times that the former president couldn't get enough of John's music, often playing his albums endlessly on his private plane during the 2016 campaign trail, leaving his staff unable to catch any Zs.

Despite his vocal support of John's marriage, the Trump administration threatened the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, and John told The Guardian, "I'm not a Republican in a million years." Still, John and Trump seemed to have an amicable relationship, that is, until it came to light that John's team had filed a cease and desist order against the Trump campaign in an attempt to get the then-presidential hopeful to stop playing John's songs at his 2016 rallies.

"I don't really want my music to be involved in anything to do with an American election campaign," John told The Guardian at the time. "I'm British. I've met Donald Trump, he was very nice to me, it's nothing personal, his political views are his own, mine are very different." Trump, unsurprisingly, didn't heed the order to refrain from playing John's songs at political events and kept his favorites, "Tiny Dancer" and "Rocket Man" on his campaign playlists.

No one can say exactly how Elton John felt about Donald Trump's 2016 election victory, but the fact that he refused to perform at the newly elected president's inauguration ceremony spoke volumes. Trump, who had undergone quite the transformation since John last performed at his 2005 wedding, seemed confident the singer wouldn't pass on the opportunity, but was sorely disappointed when the British legend politely declined the invitation.

It seemed John was determined to distance himself from Trump, so when he told Variety in 2024 that he thought Trump's nickname for North Korean president Kim Jung Un, which was inspired by his hit song ,"Rocket Man," was "brilliant," people were understandably surprised. Trump has thought up some wild and derogatory nicknames for his opponents over the years, and calling Kim Jung Un "Little Rocket Man," even in formal addresses, set many people's teeth on edge, but not John's, apparently. "I just thought, 'Good on you, Donald,'" John told the outlet. "I mean, I've always been friendly toward him, and I thank him for his support. When he did that, I just thought it was hilarious. It made me laugh."

According to Trump's former national security advisor John Bolton, the former president was desperate to get a copy of John's album featuring the hit song to Kim Jong Un after he told the North Korean leader how he came up with his nickname. Kim had no idea who John was, so Trump took it upon himself to sign a copy of the album and send it to the president. He reportedly thought John would find it amusing, and, to everyone's surprise, he did. Trump and John might not agree on politics, but they clearly share a sense of humor.