Several videos that have been posted on TikTok by the Team Trump account have had Taylor Swift’s music taken down, once again bringing attention to the ongoing disagreement between the White House and musicians whose songs have been used in political posts.
The video initially included Swift’s song “August” from her Folklore album. The clip, which was posted on August 3, displayed Trump and first lady Melania Trump watching the fireworks, together with the text reading, “mood because it’s August and Donald Trump is your president.”
The caption also seemed to be directly referring to Swift by stating that the singer would be “super excited” about her song being used.
The video has now been made silent since the music is no longer available. A number of viewers welcomed this change in the comments, commenting on the fact that Swift’s audio had been removed.
Other videos produced by the Trump team featuring music by Swift have also apparently had the sound removed. For example, a video from November included “Father Figure”, a song from Swift’s album The Life of a Showgirl, in a montage in honour of the president.
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A video which was uploaded on August 6 mocked the idea that Swift had written her fourth studio album, Red, about Republicans. This post included artwork similar to the original Red album cover, but with Trump wearing a red MAGA hat and the words “Red (Donald Trump’s version).”
The video stated, “Did you know that Taylor Swift wrote an entire album about the colour of the Republican Party?”
USA TODAY got in touch with both the White House and Swift’s representatives to ask them for their comments.
Swift has in the past been openly politically opposed to Trump; she supported then-Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election and Trump later responded by posting that he hated Swift.
In 2025 Trump also remarked on Swift’s popularity and stated that she was “no longer HOT” following his declaration that he hated her. However, his tone did change after Swift had become engaged to the NFL star Travis Kelce. When the couple were later asked about that in the same year, Trump wished them well and called Swift a terrific person.
The fact that Swift’s songs have been removed is part of a wider range of disagreements between musicians and the Trump administration.
After her song “Firework” was used in a video released in July which showed U.S. military strikes in Iran, Katy Perry criticised the White House, stating that she had not approved of its use and arguing that the song was meant to symbolise hope and strength not violence.
Ariana Grande also raised an objection when the White House used her song ‘Bye’ in a TikTok video which depicted federal agents arresting people. She requested that her music not be used in connection with the kind of inhumane actions she had described. Later on, both the audio and her comment were removed.
Criticism of the use of their music in posts on White House or Trump-related social media accounts has also come from other artists, such as Kesha, Olivia Rodrigo, Noah Kahan and Sabrina Carpenter.
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In responding to Noah Kahan’s criticism, the Team Trump account seemed on purpose to inflame the dispute by posting a video in which it stated that it would keep using his music.
The fact that Swift’s songs have been taken down from some videos might be a sign that the account will be handling music which has caused objections from artists in a different way. At the same time, though, the controversy brings to light the ever-more complicated relationship between political social media campaigns, popular music and artists who do not support the administration.
