The social media team for former President Donald Trump has engaged in a public disagreement with pop star Taylor Swift on TikTok, involving the alleged removal of her music from campaign videos. This latest exchange follows a pattern of friction between Trump and Swift, which has included political endorsements and public commentary.
In a recent post, the Trump campaign's TikTok account used Swift's song "august" from her 2020 album Folklore. The video featured an image of Trump and First Lady Melania Trump watching fireworks, with text stating: "Mood because it’s August and Donald Trump is your president." The post included a message from Team Trump expressing anticipation for Swift's reaction to the use of her song.
By Friday evening, the audio track for "august" was reportedly removed from the video, replaced by a message indicating the copyright owner had not made the sound available in the user's country. Swift fans interpreted this as action taken by Swift or her representatives.
Shortly thereafter, the Trump campaign posted another video, this time using Swift's song "Red" from her 2012 album of the same name. This video featured a mocked-up version of the album cover, with a picture of Trump in a red MAGA cap replacing Swift, and a faux playlist titled "Red (Donald Trump's Version)." A message accompanying the video stated, "Did you know Taylor Swift wrote a whole album about the color of the Republican Party."
By Saturday, the "Red" audio track was also removed from the Team Trump TikTok post. A pop-up note indicated the sound was no longer available.
Swift now owns the copyright to her songs and recordings, including "august" and "Red." She regained ownership of her master recordings in May 2025 after a lengthy dispute.
This is not the first instance of the Trump campaign using Swift's music on TikTok. In November of the previous year, a video featuring her song "Father Figure" was also removed. However, another clip from November promoting Trump still includes the audio track for Swift's "The Fate of Ophelia."
The public disagreement between Trump and Swift dates back to October 2018, when Swift endorsed Democratic candidates in Tennessee, prompting Trump to state he liked her music "25 percent less." The tension escalated in September 2024 when Swift publicly endorsed Kamala Harris for president via Instagram. Trump responded on his Truth Social account with a statement saying, "I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT."
More recently, in August 2025, Trump offered a more measured response to news of Swift's engagement to Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, wishing them luck and calling them both "terrific."