'Trump Will Kill America' message etched on the Smiths' Record Store Day release

Donald Trump as US president? It seems that joke isn’t funny any more, at least not to the Smiths. Fans who purchased the group’s limited edition 7-inch at this year’s Record Store Day discovered a particularly pointed message etched on the vinyl: “Trump Will Kill America.”

Featuring two previously unreleased tracks, the 7-inch was an exclusive UK release. A-side is a demo mix of The Boy With the Thorn in his Side and B-side is an early Drone Studios version of Rubber Ring.

Soon after shops opened and fans had inspected their purchases a little closer, images of the deliberately vandalised release began to emerge.

According to reports, the design of the single’s artwork is credited to “Esteban”, which is Spanish for Steven – suggesting it was created by Steven Patrick Morrissey himself.

This year’s Record Store Day took place on 22 April. After shops across the UK opened their doors to crate diggers, it was reported that some of the 500 exclusive releases had appeared on eBay – with vinyl music by David Bowie, the Cure and Prince being listed for inflated prices.