Some songs by Taylor Swift were removed from social media videos posted by the White House and President Donald Trump’s campaign on Sunday. The removals follow the use of at least two of the musician's songs in promotional posts over the preceding week.
Swift previously endorsed then-Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential election. During the 2020 campaign, the singer posted on social media that Trump was aware she did not want him as president. Trump has also publicly criticized Swift on social media, stating in one post that he hated the artist and in another questioning her appearance.
The Trump campaign recently used two of Swift's songs on its TikTok page. One post featured a caption referencing several of her song titles to comment on Republicans, the southern border, and the Biden-Harris administration. Another video posted in June featured a song from "Toy Story 5" titled "I Knew It, I Knew You," showing Trump interacting with children and attending various events.
For the ordinary social media user, this change results in the immediate loss of audio or the total removal of specific videos from official government and campaign feeds. This typically occurs when platforms or copyright holders enforce intellectual property rights. The scale of this issue involves dozens of artists who have now voiced opposition to the administration's use of their creative work. These interactions establish a pattern of conflict between the executive branch's social media operations and the music industry over the unauthorized use of copyrighted material for political messaging.
The knock-on effects include potential changes to how federal agencies and campaigns license music for public-facing content. In November, a White House TikTok video featuring Swift's music garnered widespread attention, suggesting that the removal of such tracks could reduce the viral reach of official posts. It is not yet known if Swift or her representatives took legal action to secure these removals, as neither her team nor the White House immediately responded to requests for comment. Further updates depend on statements from the Trump campaign or potential legal filings regarding copyright enforcement.