For the second time this summer, Ariana Grande has criticized the Trump administration for featuring her music in a TikTok video. The Team Trump account included Grande’s song “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love)” in a post that tagged the singer. The video showed President Trump approaching a podium with text quoting lyrics from Grande’s 2024 track, stating, “Me and my truth we sit in silence… men can’t have babies and should never compete in women’s sports.” Grande responded in the comments, demanding that her music not be used and calling the administration’s truth false.
This incident follows Grande’s previous objection in mid-June when her song “Bye” was used in a TikTok video on immigration policy. Grande’s response to the Trump team aligns her with a growing list of artists, including ABBA, Taylor Swift, and The Rolling Stones, who have opposed the unauthorized use of their music in political campaigns.
While campaigns can legally use music by purchasing licensing packages, individual artists have the right to opt-out for various reasons. Some artists, like Taylor Swift and Bad Bunny, have taken swift action to remove their music from Team Trump’s social media posts through copyright claims.