Live and Let Die plays as Trump visits mask factory without a mask

During a pandemic that has seen more than 70,000 deaths in the US (almost a quarter of the global amount), there is probably no worse song the president could walk out to than Live and Let Die, a cover by the rock band Guns N’ Roses. But these are strange times, and so as Donald Trump walked around an N95 mask manufacturing plant in Phoenix, Arizona, that’s exactly what happened.

The president was, of course, not wearing a mask. He never does. Even when standing next to a bin full of hundreds of masks, in a mask manufacturing factory, he still managed not to wear one. And so, watching a clip of Trump being told how the mask works to prevent the spread of the deadly virus, it’s hard not to imagine he is off somewhere in his head, thinking about what he’s going to have for his dinner (that would be fries).

“Thats great, that’s great,” says Trump, as a Honeywell employee describes how the mask traps air particles. “How many do you make a day, Ryan?” he asks, breathing all over the bin full of masks.

Then comes his movie moment. As if to let us know what’s been going on inside Trump’s head all this time, the song begins to blast:

If this ever-changin’ world

In which we live in

Makes you give in and cry

Say live and let die …”

Jimmy Kimmel couldn’t help but notice a metaphor in the moment.

But the incident left some thinking Trump may have just found his 2020 election slogan.

Then, theories began circulating about the person who decided to play that song at that moment. Some thought it was Trump’s idea. Others put it down to a moment of pure genius.

Others, meanwhile, imagined the explanation to be a touch more serendipitous.

We are yet to find out whether the soundtrack for Trump’s Honeywell visit was approved by the plant or Guns N’ Roses. The Guardian was redirected to the White House after contacting Honeywell for comment, meanwhile, Guns N’ Roses representatives are yet to respond. Guns N’ Roses’ frontman, Axl Rose, once requested that Trump stop playing their songs at his rallies. But then again, Rose has been vocal about his dismay over Trump’s response to the pandemic – so perhaps he’ll be pleased his lyrics at least made Trump look like an idiot this time round.

Trump, of course, tweeted out his own video from the visit, sans metaphorical music but full of masked workers surrounding an administration that just doesn’t seem to care.

Live and let die, I guess.