Taylor Swift’s music is no longer available on several TikTok videos posted by President Donald Trump’s White House and social media team, adding another chapter to the complicated history between the singer and Trump.
On Wednesday, August 12, the official White House TikTok account posted footage of Trump speaking to supporters while Swift’s 2021 song “I Bet You Think About Me” played in the background. The accompanying caption referenced the song with the message, “We know you think about us.”
By later Wednesday, however, the video had been muted. TikTok displayed a notice stating that the sound was no longer available.
The change came only days after the Team Trump TikTok account used another Swift song, “August,” in a video posted Saturday, August 8. The caption directly acknowledged the singer, saying, “I’m sure Taylor Swift is going to be super excited we used her song.”
Within hours, the Swift track had been replaced with different music. A message displayed on the video said the copyright owner had not made the sound available in the viewer’s country.
According to Rolling Stone, Swift’s music has also disappeared from some older TikTok posts shared by Trump’s social media operation. Neither Swift nor the White House had publicly commented on the latest removals at the time of the original report.
The situation comes amid a broader pattern of musicians objecting to the use of their work in political social media content. Artists including Katy Perry, Kesha and Ariana Grande have publicly criticized White House uses of their songs in posts connected to Trump administration policies and political messaging.
The White House has also previously acknowledged that some of its social media content is designed to provoke reactions and generate attention.
In October 2025, after controversy surrounding another White House TikTok connected to Swift’s music, a White House spokesperson said the administration expected media outlets to amplify the post and characterized the strategy as intentional trolling.
Tension between Trump and Swift has continued beyond music usage.
Trump has publicly referenced Swift several times, including during remarks in July in which he claimed he had greater influence on TikTok than the singer. The article noted that he did not provide a source for the ranking he cited.
Swift, meanwhile, has generally avoided directly responding to Trump’s individual remarks. Her clearest recent political statement came during the 2024 presidential election, when she endorsed Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.
At the time, Swift said her decision to publicly clarify her position was partly motivated by AI-generated images that falsely suggested she had endorsed Trump. She warned about the dangers of misinformation and said transparency was the best way to make her actual political views clear.
Trump ultimately defeated Harris in the November 2024 election.
For now, Swift has not publicly said whether she personally requested the latest TikTok removals. What is clear is that several videos from Trump-affiliated accounts that previously featured her songs are now muted or using replacement audio — keeping the relationship between celebrity music, copyright and political social media under renewed attention.
