The Trump White House sparked anger, plenty of ridicule and a mocking reminder after using a new Taylor Swift song in its latest hype video on TikTok.
The 22-second clip, set to Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia,” features the lyric “Keep it one hundred on the land, the sea, the sky” over footage of the U.S. military, before cutting to shots of President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and their wives as Swift sings, “Pledge allegiance to your hands, your team, your vibes.” See the White House post here.
Swift fans erupted in the comments, demanding the singer sue the Trump administration for using her music presumably without permission, something multiple artists have done in the past.
Others mocked the president for his apparent hypocrisy, recalling his 2024 rant on Truth Social, after Swift endorsed his then-Democratic rival Kamala Harris, declaring, “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!”
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin via Getty Images
Trump, once filmed vibing to Swift’s “Blank Space” in a car, appears to have softened on the superstar. Earlier this year, he congratulated Swift on her engagement to NFL player Travis Kelce, calling her a “terrific person.”
The power couple, though, were previously the subjects of a right-wing conspiracy theory claiming they would somehow push Americans to vote for Democrats in the 2024 election.
Critics mocked the White House for the apparent reversal with the video.
“MAGA is so desperate to seem mainstream that they’re using the music of the woman they’ve been publicly attacking since the 2010s,” one person posted.
A White House official snarkily defended the clip, telling Variety: “We made this video because we knew fake news media brands like Variety would breathlessly amplify them. Congrats, you got played.”