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Lara Trump may be part of the most powerful political family in the United States, but the president’s daughter-in-law and former Republican National Committee chair has ambitions elsewhere: music stardom. On Friday, she released her latest single, a masterclass in insipid vocal fry pop slop titled “No Days Off.”
Performed alongside Moroccan-American rapper French Montana, the track follows the standard template pioneered by reality TV stars looking to make a quick buck off a few hours in the recording studio: a generic dance beat and “can’t stop, won’t stop,” “work, work, work” lyricism done before and better by more talented artists. The Crisco-thick layer of autotune seemingly smothering Trump’s vocals isn’t enough to dim down the I’m-actually-just-talking-into-the-microphone quality of her “singing.”
During an administration that claims to prize merit and talent as a maker of success, Lara Trump’s political and musical endeavors are front facing evidence that nepotism remains alive and well.The wife of Trump’s son Eric Trump, she was tapped to serve as co-chair of the RNC amid Trump’s 2024 campaign. Following Trump’s victory, she was floated as a potential replacement for Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s vacated Florida Senate seat. She instead launched a weekend show on Fox News. In “No Days Off,” Trump references her career on cable news, telling listeners that they “only know what they show you when you turn on the TV.”
It’s not Lara Trump’s first foray into the recording arts. She was previously panned by listeners and music critics after the release of “Hero,” a tribute to firefighters that — much like “No Days Off” — relied heavily on autotune and the capabilities of a more seasoned artist to carry the performance. A year earlier, she reignited a dispute between her father-in-law and the estate of Grammy-winning artist Tom Petty, after she recorded a cover of his 1989 single “I Won’t Back Down.” Petty’s estate issued a cease and desist to the Trump campaign in 2020 over his use of the song at political rallies. It’s safe to say Lara Trump’s cover couldn’t hold a candle to the original.
Montana, a seasoned performer and lyricist, contributed the most palatable verse on “No Days Off.” The two appear on the cover art for the single in a callback to Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s iconic Mr. & Mrs. Smith poster. In July, the rapper posted an image of him and Lara Trump in a recording studio, and received plenty of backlash from fans. A representative for Montana did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Rolling Stone.
More than six months after the two met in the studio, one could argue that whatever days Trump took off from managing the RNC’s ongoing efforts to challenge voting rights were wasted recording this track, but frankly the 2:23 minutes of cringiness are far less damaging to the average listener than the current Republican platform. Not that that’s saying much.
