Taylor Swift has succeeded in getting her music pulled from a Trump-affiliated TikTok account after her song "August" was used in a video without her permission.
The Team Trump account, which was created during the 2024 presidential campaign, posted a clip earlier this week showing Donald and Melania Trump watching fireworks while "August" played in the background. The caption leaned into the provocation, reading, "I'm sure @Taylor Swift is going to be super excited we used her song! #taylorswift #maga #august."
By Friday, users in the United States found that the Folklore track had vanished from the video, replaced with a notice stating that the copyright owner had not made the sound available in their country, a signal that Swift's camp had moved to block its use.
This was not an isolated incident: another Team Trump TikTok, this one set to Swift's "Father Figure" and posted back in November 2025, also had its audio stripped after the fact. The removals appear targeted rather than sweeping, however. A separate White House TikTok video from last November that uses Swift's "The Fate of Ophelia" remains untouched and still carries the song.
The pattern fits a broader dynamic between the Trump camp and Swift that has played out repeatedly since the singer endorsed Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 election. Trump responded to that endorsement at the time by declaring "I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT," and accounts tied to his political operation have since made a habit of using her music in social media posts aimed squarely at provoking a reaction, fully aware that doing so needles the singer and her fanbase.
The needling has not been limited to music choices; when Swift married Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce at Madison Square Garden in July, the official White House TikTok account marked the occasion with a string of mocking memes rather than any congratulatory message, continuing what has become a recognizable pattern of using the couple's high-profile moments as fodder for political trolling.
Trump's frustration with Swift did not start with the 2024 race. It dates back to at least 2018, when Swift broke from her long-held silence on political matters to endorse Democratic Senate candidate Phil Bredesen over Republican Marsha Blackburn in Tennessee's midterm election.
When asked about Swift's comments outside the White House at the time, Trump dismissed her political knowledge, saying, "I'm sure Taylor Swift knows nothing, and doesn't know anything about [Blackburn]." He added a jab at her music as well, telling reporters, "I like Taylor's music about 25 percent less now, OK?"
That remark, made more than seven years ago, previewed what has since become a running theme: a president willing to mix pop culture commentary with political grievance whenever Swift's name comes up.
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