A major aspect of Donald Trump's presidential election campaigns in 2016, 2020, and 2024 was unauthorized use of music at his prominent and frequent political rallies. Below are musicians who have voiced opposition to their music being used by Trump at his rallies, or for other political purposes, and the actions they took in response to their music's use.
Separately to the individual cases below, a group of artists including Mick Jagger, Lorde, Sia, Blondie, Sheryl Crow, Green Day, Lionel Richie, Elvis Costello, Keith Richards, Steven Tyler and Rosanne Cash in collaboration with the Artist Rights Alliance, have signed a letter demanding that politicians seek permission before playing their music at campaign rallies and public events. Trump's use of music without permission has become the subject of satire, with The Onion humorously claiming that the estate of Irving Berlin was suing Trump for his glockenspiel rendition of "God Bless America", and that the Francis Scott Key estate had sent Trump a cease and desist letter demanding he stop playing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at his rallies.
Venues and political campaigns can buy rights to play songs through licensing packages offered by performing rights organizations such as BMI and ASCAP. BMI and ASCAP allow artists to remove a song from a campaign's Political Entities License. After BMI or ASCAP notifies the campaign of the song's removal, the campaign must stop using the song or risk legal action for copyright infringement. A political campaign that uses a licensed song without the artist's permission may also risk legal action on grounds of trademark infringement, false advertising, or right of publicity.
ABBA At a campaign event in St. Cloud, MN, on August 27, 2024, the Trump campaign played the ABBA songs "Money, Money, Money", "The Winner Takes It All", and "Dancing Queen". After the event, ABBA demanded for the campaign to stop using their music, stating: "[W]e have discovered that videos have been released where Abba's music/videos has been used at Trump events, and we have therefore requested that such use be immediately taken down and removed," adding that "no permission or license has been given to Trump."
Adele Adele stated that Trump did not have permission to use her songs "Rolling in the Deep" or "Skyfall" at Trump political rallies in 2016, and requested that her music not be used in any political campaigning. Adele later endorsed Trump's 2016 opponent, Hillary Clinton.
Aerosmith Steven Tyler of Aerosmith demanded that Trump stop playing "Dream On" at Trump's political rallies in 2015. In 2018, Tyler demanded that Trump stop using another song, "Livin' on the Edge", at his political rallies. A cease and desist letter was sent both times.
A-ha Magne Furuholmen of the band A-ha, opposed the use of the rotoscoping clip from "Take On Me" music video at a Trump rally in October 2019. Furuholmen said "You write a song in your youth and you don't write for a particular group of people...We make our music for everybody. We didn't intend to make our music part of a divisive campaign and, all things equal, would preferred it not to have been. We are Norwegian-born, but we have friends all over the world and are concerned about what the world is coming to." He released a protest song titled "This is Now America", as a direct response to the Trump administration.
Andrew Lloyd Webber Betty Buckley, the original star of the Broadway musical Cats urged composer Andrew Lloyd Webber to prevent her signature song "Memory" from being played at the political rallies of Trump (whose love for the Cats soundtrack has been reported). Webber's UK-based company, Really Useful Group, sent a cease and desist letter to Trump's 2020 campaign.
Ariana Grande In June 2026, the White House used Ariana Grande’s 2024 song "Bye" in a video promoting ICE deportations. Grande commented on the video, saying, “Please do not ever use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense. Fck ice.” A spokesperson for Grande confirmed she commented herself.
On August 20, 2026, the White House, under the Team Trump account, used Grande's 2024 song "We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)" in a video with the caption "This shouldn't be controversial!", depicting Trump walking to the podium at a rally. Grande commented on the video, saying, “Never use my music again. Also, your truth is false.”
The Animals Eric Burdon of The Animals objected after Trump used "House of the Rising Sun" during a September 2, 2020, campaign event. "[N]obody asked my permission," Burdon stated, adding that "[a] tale of sin and misery set in a brothel suits him so perfectly." He suggested that The Animals' "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" would have been more appropriate.
The Beatles George Harrison's estate denounced the use of the Harrison-written Beatles song "Here Comes the Sun" after the Trump campaign used the song to introduce Ivanka Trump at the 2016 Republican National Convention. The estate noted that Trump did not have permission to use this song, but that they would consider allowing him to use the Harrison song "Beware of Darkness".
Beyoncé On July 23, 2024, the Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris obtained permission from Beyoncé and Parkwood Entertainment to use "Freedom" as the official song for her 2024 presidential campaign. On August 20, 2024, Steven Cheung, a Republican spokesperson, posted on Twitter a 13-second video of Trump's arrival in Detroit for a rally using "Freedom" as the theme song. The following day, Beyoncé's record label and music publisher sent a cease and desist letter to Trump for using the song without permission.
Boards of Canada Boards of Canada and their record label, Warp Records, issued a joint statement on 29 May 2026 condemning an X post made by the White House the previous day, which features nationalist imagery set to their song "Deep Time", which was used without permission from the duo or from the label. The statement read: "Warp Records and Boards of Canada do not condone the unauthorised use of their music for political messaging".
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Springsteen opposed Trump using his song "Born in the U.S.A." at Trump's political rallies in 2016. Rather than take legal action, he openly announced his support for Trump's opponent, Hillary Clinton, and campaigned in support of her. From that time on, the song would get booed every time Trump played it at rallies.
Celine Dion Celine Dion's management team and Sony Music Canada issued a statement following the unauthorized use of "My Heart Will Go On" at a Trump political rally in Montana in August 2024, saying that "[…] Celine Dion does not endorse this or any similar use. …And really, THAT song?".
Creedence Clearwater Revival John Fogerty, the frontman for the band Creedence Clearwater Revival, has opposed Trump's use of the band's song "Fortunate Son". In October 2020, Fogerty announced he was sending a cease-and-desist letter to Trump, saying that Trump "is using my words and my voice to portray a message that I do not endorse". Fogerty noted that it was quite the opposite—the song's lyrics were meant as a critique of how wealthy people are unfairly able to avoid the draft or pay their share of taxes. Later on, he openly endorsed Trump's 2020 challenger, Joe Biden, by launching his own TikTok account following Trump's defiance of the cease-and-desist order over usage of his song, "Fortunate Son".
Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire criticized Trump's use of their song "September" without permission at the 2016 Republican National Convention.
Eddy Grant Eddy Grant issued a copyright complaint over Trump's use of his song "Electric Avenue" in a political video he tweeted. The video was taken down, and a lawsuit and cease-and-desist letter followed. Grant's September 2020 lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleged copyright infringement. On September 13, 2024, the Court ruled that Eddy Grant and Greenheart Music Limited were entitled to summary judgment on liability. "The video is best described as a wholesale copying of music to accompany a political campaign ad," the judge wrote. Copyrightlately noted: "With liability established, the case will now focus on determining damages."
On November 20, 2024, the court issued an order stating that the two sides had settled the lawsuit and that the case would be discontinued. The order did not disclose the terms of the settlement.
Elton John Elton John opposed the use of his songs "Rocket Man" and "Tiny Dancer" at Trump political rallies in 2016. John noted that while their political views were very different, it was not personal. He believed that, as a British musician, his music had no place in U.S. politics at all, and that Ted Nugent, for example, was more appropriate.
Everlast House of Pain rapper Everlast issued a cease-and-desist letter over Trump's use of his song "Jump Around" during his campaign rallies, and launched a profanity-laced tirade against him.
Foo Fighters In August 2024, the Foo Fighters objected to the use of their song "My Hero" at the rally where Trump introduced Robert Kennedy Jr. A statement from the band asserted that Trump did not ask for permission to use the track, nor would the band have granted it if it had been requested. The statement also mentioned that any increased royalties from its usage would be donated directly to the Kamala Harris 2024 presidential campaign. The Trump campaign responded by stating that it had licensed the song from BMI's Songview service.
Frank Sinatra In April 2026, Trump posted a video clip without a caption or explanation of Frank Sinatra performing "My Way". Sinatra's eldest daughter Nancy Sinatra responded on X writing “This is a sacrilege" and "Trump may love Sinatra, but Sinatra did not love Trump." In a reply to a fan asking her if anything could be done, she wrote "Unfortunately no. The only people who can do something are the publishers." A 2017 autobiography of Frank's manager Eliot Weisman supports Nancy's assessment of her father's opinion, recounting that during negotiations to book Sinatra for the 1990 opening of the Trump Taj Mahal Casino, Sinatra instructed his manager he had two choices: "tell him to go fuck himself, or give me his number and I'll do it."
Free After Trump's 2016 campaign used Free's song "All Right Now", vocalist Paul Rodgers stated: "Permission to use 'All Right Now' was never sought for or granted by me. My lawyer is dealing with this matter."
Guns N' Roses In November 2018, after Trump played the band's hit song "Sweet Child o' Mine" during an event, Axl Rose said that he and his band had formally requested that Trump not use their music at his events, and posted on Twitter that "the Trump campaign is using loopholes in the various venues' blanket performance licenses which were not intended for such craven political purposes, without the songwriters' consent."
In May 2020, Axl Rose opposed the use of the Guns N' Roses cover of the Paul McCartney and Wings song "Live and Let Die" in a meatpacking plant where Trump refused to take the COVID-19 pandemic precaution of wearing a mask. In response, Rose created shirts with the phrase "Live N' Let Die With COVID 45", with all proceeds going to the MusiCares charity.
Heart On Saturday, June 14, 2025, an instrumental version of the Heart song "Barracuda" was played during the Trump-organized United States Army 250th Anniversary Parade. That same day, singer and songwriter Nancy Wilson posted a video saying "The song 'Barracuda' by Heart was played without permission or authorization from us. 'Barracuda,' written and performed by Ann and I, is a powerful piece of music that was never intended for political use." Furthering the point, she wore a hat saying "No Kings But Us", in support of the June 2025 No Kings protest happening the same day.
Isaac Hayes