Abigail Jackson told Sabrina Carpenter the White House would "never apologize" for deporting criminals and called their own ICE videos "banger videos."
Now a Vermont folk singer just handed Trump another one.
And his co-writer made it worse before quietly deleting the evidence.
The Setup That Should Have Been Obvious
Trump visited General Motors' Milford Proving Ground in Michigan this week to celebrate American-made cars.
His social team set the video to a song called "American Cars."
That's it.
That's the whole provocation – and Noah Kahan took the bait anyway.
The Grammy-nominated singer, best known for his album Stick Season, responded in the Instagram comments: "Would never approve of my music being used in support of you or this administration."
https://twitter.com/HQNewsNow/status/2082269903461986496?s=20
His comment racked up 33,000 likes.
He also took issue with the White House on X.
“I am deeply appalled and angry to see ‘Firework’ used on the White House TikTok account as a backing track for video footage of military strikes,” the singer said on X. “I did not approve this, I was not asked, and I absolutely do not condone it.”
The White House got millions of free views.
Co-writer Noah Levine went further, posting a profanity-laced attack at Trump personally.
He deleted it fast – but fans had already grabbed the screenshots, and those are still circulating everywhere.
The Game Every Musician Keeps Losing
Levine thought he was striking a blow against the administration.
What he actually did was guarantee the video would reach audiences who never would have seen it.
This is the exact same play that has burned Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo, Katy Perry, and SZA over the past eight months.
Carpenter called a White House ICE video "evil and disgusting" after her song "Juno" was used without permission.
The White House didn't apologize.
They put out a second video using her likeness.
Then spokesperson Abigail Jackson told the press: "We won't apologize for deporting dangerous criminal illegal aliens from American communities."
Rodrigo demanded they "don't ever use my songs to promote your racist, hateful propaganda."
The administration named their own videos "banger videos" and said so publicly.
SZA – the most self-aware of the bunch – actually named what was happening, calling it "White House rage baiting artists for free promo."
She was right.
And then she participated in the outrage cycle anyway.
Ariana Grande told the administration to stop using her music in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement video that showed federal agents arresting and handcuffing illegal aliens.
“Please do not ever use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense,” she commented.
They Know Exactly What They're Doing
Here's what the media won't tell you.
The White House isn't accidentally using these songs – and in most cases, they're not breaking the law either.
A 2024 licensing deal between Universal Music Group and Meta made most pop music freely available on Instagram.
They're operating within the system the music industry itself set up.
https://twitter.com/KahanArchive/status/2079032421236756719?s=20
Every time a pop star with 20 million followers screams about a White House social media video, that video reaches an audience ten times larger than it ever would have on its own.
The artists think they're punching back.
They're writing press releases for ICE.
And the score right now is Trump 12, Musicians 0.
Levine's deleted slur is already spreading faster than the original video.
Trump doesn't need a press team when his opponents keep doing the work for him.
Sources:
- Madison Colombo, "Pop star Noah Kahan fumes after Trump White House uses hit song 'American Cars' for GM video," Fox News, July 29, 2026.
- Variety Staff, "Noah Kahan Slams White House for Using Song in Social Media Post," Variety, July 28, 2026.
- Billboard Staff, "Noah Kahan Slams White House for Unauthorized Use of 'American Cars,'" Billboard, July 29, 2026.
- Billboard Staff, "SZA Slams Donald Trump White House for 'Rage Baiting' Artists for Publicity," Billboard, December 10, 2025.
- White House Spokesperson Abigail Jackson, statement to Spectrum News, December 2025.