Several videos posted on President Donald Trump’s Team Trump TikTok page have had Taylor Swift’s music removed. These videos previously featured Swift’s tracks but are now soundless.
On August 3, an edited video showed President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump watching fireworks, accompanied by Swift’s song “August”. The text on the video read “mood because it’s August and Donald Trump is your president”, and the caption mentioned Swift excitably for using her song. Now, the video has no audio, and comments celebrate the removal, stating things like “TAYLOR REMOVING THE AUDIO”.
Other videos on the Team Trump TikTok also lost their audio, including a November video using Swift’s “Life of a Showgirl” track “Father Figure” to honor Trump. USA TODAY has reached out to the White House and Swift’s representatives for comments.
Another Team Trump video from August 6 suggested Swift wrote her album “Red” about Republicans. It shows artwork imitating the “Red” album cover with Trump donning a red MAGA hat. However, this video has no sound now. Swift endorsed Kamala Harris, the Democratic frontrunner against Trump, prior to the 2024 election. Trump later criticized Swift but wished her well after her engagement to Travis Kelce in August 2025.
Pop stars including Katy Perry have voiced disapproval over the White House using their songs. A video of U.S. military strikes in Iran shared on the White House’s TikTok featured Perry’s “Firework”, which she strongly opposed. Perry stated her music is meant to bring people together, not for celebrating warfare.
Ariana Grande also criticized the use of her song “Bye” in a White House video that depicted federal agents arresting people. Other artists like Kesha, Olivia Rodrigo, Noah Kahan, and Sabrina Carpenter have similarly condemned the unauthorized use of their songs in different White House videos.