Taylor Swift's 'August' removed from Trump campaign TikTok video over copyright claim

Copyright removal

The @TeamTrump TikTok account, which has 14 million followers and was created ahead of the 2024 U.S. presidential election, posted a video approximately four days ago featuring Taylor Swift's 2020 Folklore track "August" as its soundtrack. The clip shows Donald and Melania Trump standing on a balcony watching fireworks, with overlaid text reading "Mood because it's August and Donald Trump is your president." The caption read "I'm sure @Taylor Swift is going to be super excited we used her song! #taylorswift #maga #august." On Friday, August 7, U.S. TikTok users noticed the song had been removed from the post. A message on the video now reads "The copyright owner hasn't made this sound available in your country," indicating that Swift or her representatives initiated the takedown. The Independent and Variety both contacted representatives for Swift and Trump for comment. Swift had not publicly commented on the situation as of press time.

Fan reactions and further trolling

The comments section filled quickly with reactions from Swift's supporters celebrating the removal. One user wrote "TAYLOR REMOVING THE AUDIO QUEEEEEEN," while another commented "sorry what was that? cant hear the song." A third added "She removed it, clocked you guys." After the removal, the Team Trump account escalated further by posting a mock-up of Swift's 2012 album Red, retitled "Red (Donald Trump's Version)" with Trump's profile overlaid on the cover art. Song titles were altered to include "Red (Taylor Swift Wrote A Whole Album About Republicans)" and "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together (The Biden Harris Administration)." The caption read "Did you know Taylor Swift wrote a whole album about the color of the Republican Party." As of Billboard's publication on August 8, sound was not available on that post either, though Variety reported earlier the same day that the audio was still accessible.

Previous takedowns

This is not the first time Swift's music has been stripped from Trump-affiliated TikTok content. A Team Trump video posted on November 6, 2025, featuring Swift's 2025 hit "Father Figure," has also had its audio removed. According to Billboard, a 2025 video on the White House's official TikTok account using Swift's song "The Fate of Ophelia" has similarly disappeared. The Team Trump account has continued to post videos regularly since Trump was elected to a second term.

Broader feud context

Tensions between Trump and Swift date back to 2018 and escalated after Swift endorsed Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. Swift said of Harris, "I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos."

Trump responded by posting "I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!" on Truth Social. Following Swift's wedding to Travis Kelce on July 4, the White House posted a social media parody mocking the celebration at New York's Madison Square Garden, using an AI-generated picture of pink billboards saying "Trump is your president." The White House's official X account posted "IT'S HAPPENED!!!" alongside the altered image.