Taylor Swift's songs removed from Donald Trump and White House videos
The pop star's tracks have been removed from campaign and White House social media content. This follows Swift's previous endorsement of Kamala Harris and the president's public criticism of the singer.
Taylor Swift's songs have been removed from social media videos posted by the campaign of US President Donald Trump and the White House, after two of the American pop star's tracks were featured over the past week.
While Swift has not spoken out recently regarding Trump, she expressed support for his Democratic rival, then-Vice President Kamala Harris, during the 2024 election. In the 2020 campaign, Swift wrote on social media that Trump is "well aware that we do not want him as president."
Trump, for his part, has attacked Swift repeatedly. After she endorsed Harris, the president wrote on social media: "I hate Taylor Swift!". Previously, he had remarked: "Has anyone noticed that since I said 'I hate Taylor Swift', she is no longer 'hot'?".
During the past week, the Trump campaign used two of Swift's songs on its TikTok page. In one video, the singer's lyrics were used to attach political messages to the president. It featured captions such as "Red (Donald Trump's Version)", "Everything Has Changed (At Our Southern Border)", "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together (The Biden Harris Administration)", and "The Last Time (An Autopen Runs The Country)" alongside the president's name.
In June, the campaign posted another video on the platform using Swift's new song from the movie "Toy Story 5", titled "I Knew It, I Knew You". The video, captioned "No one loves our country and the American people more than US President Donald J. Trump", showed the president interacting with children at the White House, dancing at a UFC event, and appearing at a rally.
The use of Swift's music comes against a backdrop of opposition from dozens of artists regarding the use of their work by the Trump administration. Among those who have banned the White House from using their songs are Sabrina Carpenter and Ariana Grande. This is not the first time in recent months that the campaign or the administration has utilized a Swift track.
In April, the White House published a video documenting the Artemis II mission team meeting with Trump. The video incorporated Swift's song "High Infidelity". In November, the White House posted another TikTok video featuring the song "The Fate of Ophelia" from Swift's album "The Life of a Showgirl", released just a month prior.
That video featured the US flag, various sites, and photos of Trump, including his 2023 mugshot. The post sparked significant social media reaction, and a White House spokesperson later told media outlets that the video was created because the administration knew the media would "amplify them with enthusiasm".
Trump's communications team frequently uses well-known songs alongside imagery related to presidential policies, including immigration enforcement, US military actions against Iran, and the arrest of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
