Taylor Swift’s music has quietly disappeared from several TikTok videos posted by Donald Trump’s campaign team. Fans noticed that the audio for “august,” “Opalite” and “Father Figure” had been muted, with TikTok displaying a copyright notice indicating the songs are no longer available for use in those clips.
The most recent case involves a @TeamTrump video uploaded roughly four days earlier featuring “august,” from Swift’s 2020 album Folklore. The post showed Donald Trump and Melania Trump watching fireworks from a balcony alongside the caption, “Mood because it’s August and Donald Trump is your president.”
The accompanying caption appeared to directly reference the singer, reading: “I’m sure @Taylor Swift is going to be super excited we used her song! #taylorswift #maga #august.”
By the evening of August 7, fans discovered the music had been removed. Instead of the song, TikTok now displays the message: “The copyright owner hasn’t made this sound available in your country.” The same action has since been applied to two older @TeamTrump videos that used “Father Figure” and “Opalite,” despite both remaining online with their original audio for weeks.
Taylor Swift’s position is unique because she owns both her master recordings and publishing rights, giving her and her team greater authority to restrict unauthorized uses of her music than many artists enjoy. Neither Swift’s representatives nor the Trump team have publicly commented on the removals.
The development arrives against the backdrop of a long-running political divide between Taylor Swift and Donald Trump. During the 2024 U.S. presidential election, the singer publicly endorsed Kamala Harris, prompting Trump to later post, “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!” on social media. Despite that history, Trump-affiliated accounts have continued using her music on occasion.
Taylor Swift’s decision also follows a broader trend of artists objecting to the political use of their music. Earlier this month, Katy Perry condemned the White House after “Firework” accompanied footage of U.S. military strikes, saying she had never granted permission and that the video’s message fundamentally contradicted the song’s intent. SZA similarly criticized the use of her music in an ICE-related video, while Sabrina Carpenter and Olivia Rodrigo also publicly denounced government agencies for pairing their songs with politically charged content.
Photo: Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott
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