WASHINGTON — Some Taylor Swift songs have been removed from social media videos posted by President Donald Trump’s campaign and the White House, silencing efforts to mock the pop star.The Trump campaign used two Swift songs over the last week on its TikTok page. A video posted August 3 featuring the US president and the first lady, Melania Trump, watching fireworks was posted this month on TikTok with Swift’s song August.“I’m sure @Taylor Swift is going to be super excited we used her song! #taylorswift #maga #august,” the accompanying text states.Trump’s campaign later published another post, needling Swift over the title of her 2012 album, Red. “Did you know Taylor Swift wrote a whole album about the color of the Republican party?” it said, suggesting parody track titles.Both videos are now silent.Trump-related social media accounts have used Swift’s music in other campaign videos, too, but several of those also no longer have sound.As the text with the August video suggests, Trump’s social media accounts have used pop stars’ songs as rage bait. They have featured music from artists including Ariana Grande, Katy Perry, Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo and Kenny Loggins, all of whom publicly objected to the use of their music.The White House and a representative for Swift did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Swift has not spoken recently about Trump, although she endorsed his Democratic rival, then-Vice President Kamala Harris, in 2024. During the 2020 campaign, Swift posted on social media that Trump was “WELL AWARE we do not want him as our president.”Trump has repeatedly criticized Swift. After she endorsed Harris, the Republican said on social media, “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!” Last year he wrote: “Has anyone noticed that, since I said ‘I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT,’ she’s no longer “HOT?”Dozens of artists, including Sabrina Carpenter and Ariana Grande, have called on the Trump administration not to use their songs.“Please do not use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense,” Grande posted after the White House posted her music over a montage of ICE agents handcuffing and detaining people.When Trump’s White House used one of Carpenter’s songs to soundtrack a video of immigration raids in 2025, the singer wrote: “This video is evil and disgusting. Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda.”In June, Trump’s campaign posted a video on the short-video platform with Swift’s new “Toy Story 5” song “I Knew It, I Knew You.” The short video was captioned “Nobody loves our country & the American People more than @President Donald J Trump.” It showed him interacting with children at the White House, dancing at a UFC match and appearing at a rally.It was the third time the Trump administration or his campaign had used one of the Grammy Award-winning pop star’s songs in recent months.In April, the White House shared a video showing the crew of Artemis II meeting with Trump at the White House the day before. The video used Swift’s “High Infidelity” and lyrics from the song: “Do you really want to know where I was April 29th?”The White House shared another TikTok video in November featuring “The Fate of Ophelia” from Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl” album, which had been released the month before. That video featured images of the US flag, monuments and various photos of Trump, including his 2023 arrest mugshot.That post garnered widespread social media reaction and led to a White House spokesperson telling multiple news outlets the video was created because the Trump administration knew news outlets “would breathlessly amplify them.”The communications team for Trump, who is prolific on social media, has posted an array of hit songs with images including Trump’s immigration crackdown, US military operations against Iran and the arrest of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
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