<\/p>\n
Pro tip: Just because a song has the word \u201cAmerican\u201d in the title doesn\u2019t mean that the government gets to use it willy-nilly. In early November, when the White House and the Department of Homeland Security shared an Instagram video<\/a> of ICE agents detaining and arresting people with a caption encouraging people to \u201cLEAVE NOW and self-deport using the CBP Home app,\u201d using Rodrigo\u2019s \u201cAll-American Bitch,\u201d The post warned, \u201cIf you don\u2019t, you will face the consequences.\u201d Rodrigo hit back in the post\u2019s comments.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t ever use my songs to promote your racist, hateful propaganda,\u201d she wrote in a since-deleted comment. As a grace note, the song is no longer available to use on Instagram, and the post, which remains as of this article\u2019s publication, plays to silence.<\/p>\n Johnny Marr,<\/strong> the former guitarist for The Smiths, was distraught to learn<\/a>, in January 2024, that his band\u2019s song \u201cPlease, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want\u201d had been played at a Trump rally in September 2023.<\/p>\n \u201cAhh\u2026right\u2026OK. I never in a million years would\u2019ve thought this could come to pass,\u201d he wrote on social media<\/a>. \u201cConsider this shit shut right down right now.\u201d<\/p>\n Bruce Springsteen<\/strong> has repeatedly denounced Trump, and long ago banned him from using his music for campaign or political purposes. But the guy is just so persistent and eloquent in dunking on Trump that we had to include him in the second-term list, as a treat.<\/p>\n In an October 2024 video officially endorsing Harris<\/a>, the \u201cBorn in the USA\u201d singer called Trump \u201cthe most dangerous candidate for president in my lifetime. His disdain for the sanctity of our constitution, the sanctity of democracy, the sanctity of the rule of law, and the sanctity of the peaceful transfer of power should disqualify him from the office of president ever again. He doesn\u2019t understand the meaning of this country, its history, or what it means to be deeply American.\u201d<\/p>\n On December 8, 2025, the White House posted a pro-ICE video<\/a> to social media that used a snippet of \u201cBig Boys,\u201d a parody song SZA performed on Saturday Night Live in 2022<\/a>. The clip shows ICE agents detaining people, and is captioned, \u201cWE HEARD IT’S CUFFING SZN. Bad news for criminal illegal aliens. Great news for America.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n SZA was not amused. \u201cWhite House rage baiting artists for free promo is PEAK DARK,\u201d she wrote on social media<\/a> later that week. \u201c..inhumanity +shock and aw tactics ..Evil n Boring.\u201d<\/p>\n Rufus Wainwright<\/strong>\u2019s cover of Leonard Cohen\u2019s classic \u201cHallelujah\u201d was among the songs Trump played at a bizarre October 2024 town hall in Oaks, Pennsylvania<\/a>, when the then candidate turned a medical emergency in the crowd into an opportunity for an extended listening party<\/a>, standing onstage and swaying in front of the gathered attendees. The late Cohen\u2019s estate asked Sony, his label, to issue the campaign a cease-and-desist<\/a>, while Wainwright also issued a statement<\/a> calling the song \u201can anthem dedicated to peace, love, and acceptance of the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\nThe Smiths<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Bruce Springsteen<\/strong><\/h2>\n
SZA<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Rufus Wainwright and Leonard Cohen<\/strong><\/h2>\n