Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Bacharach doesn’t hold back on Trump
Burt Bacharach, taking to the political stage at age 92, is using song, reminiscences and commentary on current events to rally Florida seniors to vote for Joe Biden.
He didn’t hold back in a Zoom video conference on Thursday evening. Bacharach thinks President Donald Trump is dangerous and must be defeated.
“I can’t stand this man,” Bacharach said, offering his view that Trump can’t be trusted. “He’s a dishonest person. We’ve got [JUMP] to get rid of this lie machine, the perpetual constant lies and the noise
that goes with it and the exhaustion that comes from him.”
At one point, early in the 55-minute video call, Bacharach said, “I can’t wait to get this bastard out of office.”
At that point, he was interrupted by another celebrity from an earlier era, Jon Bauman — who was “Bowzer” in the band Sha Na Na and acted as host for the Biden event. Bauman is a frequent presence on the campaign trail, working on behalf of Democratic candidates, especially in the Jewish community.
Bauman’s role Thursday evening was steering the conversation from politics to reminiscences and music from his fellow artist.
Bacharach was less pointed when he started playing the piano. The song he played first, and at the end, was a slightly altered version of “What the World Needs Now Is Love.”
“What the world needs now is love, sweet love.
“It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of.
“What the world needs now is Joe Bi-den.
“He’s the one for us to be president.”
Wearing a T-shirt proclaiming “VOTE,” Bacharach spoke via webcam from a piano, as part of the attempt by the Biden campaign to motivate every potential older voter — and make sure they turn out.
Seniors, who are a large share of the Florida population, are a critical constituency in a state that awards 29 of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.
Illustrating the importance of senior voters, Biden campaigned at a Pembroke Pines senior center on Tuesday, Vice President Mike Pence appeared on behalf of Trump Monday in the Villages, the sprawling, Republican-leaning 55+ community Central Florida, and Trump visited Fort Myers on Friday for a “Protecting America’s Seniors” event.
Among all Florida voters, the Five-Thirty-Eight polling average shows Biden 4 points ahead of Trump in Florida, 49.1% to 44.9%.
The average from five Florida polls this month — from Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy, Emerson College, Quinnipiac University,
Siena College and Suffolk University — shows Biden slightly ahead of Trump, 48.6% to 45.2%, among Florida voters 65 and older. The numbers are so close they’re effectively tied.
When the conversation got back to politics, Bacharach told his fellow seniors to avoid complacency.
“This is not a shoo-in,” he said. “It’s on you there, in Florida, seniors.” Bacharach was in California for the call. He lives in the Pacific Palisades.
A simple victory isn’t enough, said Bacharach, who said he’s constantly watching for the latest poll numbers. “We have to approach this like we have no clue what this president will do when he loses, because he’s going to lose. We’ve got to make it an overwhelming — I don’t like the word landslide — but something approaching that. ... We can’t let up for one minute.”
Bacharach said if people base their votes on just one thing — “one huge thing” — the coronavirus pandemic, they should go with Biden. He said Trump was “not being vigilant and totally dishonest” about COVID-19. He faulted Trump for undercutting recommendations from health experts and holding mass campaign rallies with many unmasked participants while the virus continues to spread. “I have to keep this in check; I despise what he’s doing.” He also talked up Biden. “I believe in Joe. He’s a decent man. He’s real. He’s got civility. He’s got humility. He knows how to talk with people. He’s just like a regular guy. And after the noise machine that’s been in Washington for four years, to have that kind of civility,” he said. “And then you have Kamala [Harris, the vice presidential pick]. She’s great.”
“Please, seniors, vote. Your future is on the line,” he said. “Vote. Vote. Please, I beg of you, take nothing for granted.”
Besides the politics, bound to please Democrats and infuriate Republicans, Bauman had Bacharach explain things like how he wrote songs and orchestrated music.
His career began in the 1950s. He’s still writing music. Over the summer, he and singer-songwriter Daniel Tashian released a five-song EP “Blue Umbrella.”
He works at the piano. When he gets something he likes, he gets away from the piano, sits on the couch on in his music room to hear the whole scope of the song, and when different instruments should come in when the orchestra is playing. “For me, I sit at the piano, and I get something, but I’ve got to get away from it and hear in my head where it’s going. Should the drums come in there,” he said, starting to play “Walk On By” to illustrate his point.
“It’s a very personal thing, the writing of a song,” Bacharach said.