Pop singer and LGBTQ+ ally Ariana Grande successfully got her song “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love)” removed from a transphobic August 20 video posted by President Donald Trump’s TikTok account. It’s the second time the Trump administration has used Grande’s music without permission and just the latest instance of his administration using unauthorized music to prop up its propaganda.
The barely 8-second video shows Trump walking towards a dais at a rally and features the following overlaid text: “Me and my truth we sit in silence… men can’t have babies and should never compete in women’s sports.” The video’s caption states, “This shouldn’t be controversial! #trump #arianagrande #maga.”
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In response, Grande left a comment reading, “never use my music again. also, your truth is false.” The comment was either deleted, removed, or somehow hidden by the account, Deadline reported, but Grande’s fans reposted screenshots of it in the video’s comment section. The TikTok video has since had all audio removed from it.
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In a similar fashion, the Trump administration’s Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) used Grande’s song “Bye” last June in a TikTok video promoting Trump’s signing of the so-called Secure America Act, which funded ICE and Border Patrol. At the time, Grande commented on the video, writing, “Please do not ever use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense.”
Trump and his campaign teams habitually use popular music without artist permission in rallies and social media clips, including from LGBTQ+ and allied musicians like ABBA, Adele, Beyoncé, Celine Dion, Elton John, Katy Perry, Kesha, Queen, R.E.M., Rufus Wainwright, Sabrina Carpenter, and Sinéad O’Connor. This misuse often triggers public rebukes from musicians, which keeps Trump’s events and posts in the headlines.
This is a deliberate strategy on Trump’s part. When Variety magazine contacted the White House last November for using a Taylor Swift song in a pro-Trump TikTok video, a Trump spokesperson responded, “We made this video because we knew fake news media brands like Variety would breathlessly amplify them. Congrats, you got played.”
Trump’s unauthorized use of these songs constitutes a possible violation of federal copyright infringement law. Artists can argue in court that their music’s usage inaccurately conveys their support. Some states also have laws protecting artists from having their likeness misappropriated for commercial or political promotion.
However, lawsuits are expensive and take time, and many artists choose public condemnation or fast takedown requests over prolonged litigation.
Grande supports the trans community
In 2026, Grande launched the Brighter Days Ahead Foundation, which has a fund supporting legal and legislative advocacy for trans youth as well as organizations like Gender Liberation, TransLash, and Transanta, Billboard reported.
After Trump’s January 2025 inauguration, when he signed an executive order declaring “there are only two genders,” Grande reposted a statement from Advocates for Trans Equality reading: “Today is a tough day for our community… No matter what comes, we will protect each other.”
In 2022, on International Transgender Day of Visibility, Grande launched the Protect & Defend Trans Youth Fund and pledged to personally match up to $1.5 million in donations, calling out the “numerous shameful bills under consideration in state legislatures that specifically target transgender youth and seek to limit their rights.” That same year, she also anonymously funded a holiday gift drive for transgender young people.
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