White House And Trump Campaign Remove Taylor Swift Songs From Social Media Videos
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Entertainment · 09 August, 2026 · 3 min read

White House And Trump Campaign Remove Taylor Swift Songs From Social Media Videos

Happened

Taylor Swift's songs were removed from White House and Trump campaign TikTok videos. Removals followed use of Swift's songs, including 'August,' in their videos; no public comment.

Split on

Saudi Gazette and CBC frame Trump’s music use as strategy.

Left out

11 of 12 outlets skipped it: vanity Fair frames Swift’s takedowns as a strategic provocation-copyright clash..

19outlets compared

ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting CorporationCadena SERCBCCNNEl HuffPostEl Periódico de AragónFrance 24i24NEWS

Same story, two versions

tap a side to read it in full

Saudi GazetteSaudi Gazette

as rage bait.
Read the original

The HillThe Hill

The caption still reads, “mood because it’s August and Donald Trump is your president.”
Read the original
VS

Saudi Gazette and CBC frame Trump’s music use as strategy; others stick to copyright removals.

Swift Songs Go Silent

Taylor Swift songs were removed from social media videos posted by President Donald Trump’s campaign and the White House, with one TikTok clip of Trump and Melania Trump watching fireworks posted on August 3 becoming silent after Swift’s song “August” was used as the soundtrack.

Another video posted by Team Trump in November 2025 that previously featured audio from Swift’s song “Father Figure”

The HillThe Hill

The Team Trump TikTok post still carried the caption “Mood because it’s August and Donald Trump is your president,” but the audio was removed four days after it was posted, and in the U.S. version of TikTok a message said, “The copyright owner hasn’t made this sound available in your country.”

Image from ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation
ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting CorporationABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

A second Team Trump video posted in November 2025 that previously featured audio from Swift’s song “Father Figure” also no longer includes music from Swift, according to The Hill.T

The Independent reported that fans noticed the track was removed from the post by the copyright owner, and the Team Trump account’s video description included “I’m sure @Taylor Swift is going to be super excited we used her song! #taylorswift #maga #august.”

Feud, Captions, and Fans

The Team Trump TikTok account, which The Independent said has 14 million followers and was created ahead of the 2024 U.S. presidential election, used Swift’s music alongside captions that mocked her, including “I’m sure @Taylor Swift is going to be super excited we used her song! #taylorswift #maga #august.”

After the “August” audio was stripped, The Independent quoted a Swift fan commenting “TAYLOR REMOVING THE AUDIO QUEEEEEEN,” while another asked, “Is the song with us right now?”

Image from Cadena SER
Cadena SERCadena SER

The Hill said Swift opposed Trump during the 2024 election and endorsed former Vice President Kamala Harris, quoting Swift’s Instagram post: “I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris … in the 2024 presidential election,” and adding that she wrote, “I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos.”T

Trump has repeatedly attacked Swift online, and The Hill cited a social media post where he wrote, “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!” while The Independent described the feud escalating after Swift endorsed Harris. T

Other Artists, More Posts

The removals have unfolded alongside a broader pattern of artists objecting to the use of their music in Trump-related content, with The Guardian saying Trump’s social media accounts have used pop stars’ songs as “rage bait” and listing artists including Ariana Grande, Katy Perry, Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo and Kenny Loggins.

Please do not use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense

The GuardianThe Guardian

The Guardian also quoted Ariana Grande’s objection after the White House posted her music over a montage of ICE agents handcuffing and detaining people, writing “Please do not use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense,” while it reported that when Trump’s White House used a Carpenter song 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 this latest case, The Guardian said “Both videos are now silent,” referring to the August fireworks clip and a second post needling Swift over the title of her 2012 album Red, and it added that Swift had not commented.

The Hill reported that publicists for Swift and the White House did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment regarding the removal of her songs from content tied to the president, while Sky News said the White House and a representative for Swift had not commented on the removal of her songs from the posts.T