President Donald Trump’s social media team responded to the removal of Taylor Swift’s music from one of their videos by posting a mocking follow-up that reimagined her album “Red” with Trump-themed parody tracks.
The @TeamTrump TikTok account, which has amassed 14 million followers since launching ahead of the 2024 election, posted a video earlier this week featuring Swift’s song “August” from her 2020 album “Folklore.” The clip showed Trump and first lady Melania Trump on a balcony watching fireworks, with text overlay reading, “Mood because it’s August and Donald Trump is your president.”
“I’m sure @Taylor Swift is going to be super excited we used her song! #taylorswift #maga #august,” the account wrote in a caption that appeared to taunt the pop star.
By Friday evening, users in the United States noticed the audio had been stripped from the video. A message now displayed on the post indicates that the copyright owner has not made the sound available. Neither Swift’s representatives nor the Trump campaign has publicly explained what triggered the removal, and it remains unclear whether Swift herself or the rights holders for her music initiated the takedown.
Swift’s fans filled the comments section celebrating the audio’s disappearance. “TAYLOR REMOVING THE AUDIO QUEEEEEEN,” one user wrote.
Team Trump Fires Back With Parody Video
Rather than backing away from the dispute, the Trump social media operation escalated with a follow-up post. The account shared a new TikTok featuring a live version of Swift’s 2012 song “Red,” accompanied by fabricated album artwork showing Trump’s face and a fictional “Red (Trump’s Version)” playlist.
“Did you know Taylor Swift wrote a whole album about the color of the Republican Party,” the post stated.
The video rewrote multiple Swift song titles to incorporate Republican political messaging. “Everything Has Changed” was altered to “Everything Has Changed (At Our Southern Border),” while “The Last Time” became “The Last Time (An Autopen Runs the Country).”
“August” was not the only Swift track removed from Team Trump’s account. Videos that had used her 2025 songs “Father Figure” and “Opalite” also had their audio stripped, according to Breitbart. However, a clip on the White House TikTok account featuring her song “The Fate of Ophelia” remained available with audio intact.
Long-Running Feud Between Trump and Swift
The TikTok skirmish is the latest chapter in an ongoing public rift between Trump and the global pop star. In 2024, Trump posted “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!” on his Truth Social platform and later declared the singer was “no longer hot,” comments that came after Swift endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president ahead of the 2024 election.
Approximately one month before Swift’s endorsement, Trump shared AI-generated images that falsely portrayed her as supporting his campaign, including one depicting her as Uncle Sam. The fabricated images sparked widespread criticism and may have influenced Swift’s decision to make a public political statement.
Swift has not publicly commented on the recent TikTok incidents. The pop star has increasingly used her platform to weigh in on political issues, though she has historically been selective about when and how she engages with politicians and political controversies.
The removal of Swift’s songs from Team Trump’s videos highlights ongoing tensions between political campaigns and artists over the unauthorized use of copyrighted music. While campaigns often use popular songs to energize supporters on social media, musicians and their representatives frequently object when their work is associated with political messages they do not support.
Social media platforms like TikTok have systems in place allowing copyright holders to request removal of unauthorized uses of their music, though the specific mechanism used in this case has not been disclosed.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/08/08/team-trump-trolls-taylor-swift-red-trumps-version-august-tiktok/