Reported by: Hajira Irfan
Ariana Grande Challenges Trump Team Over Music Use
Ariana Grande has again challenged Donald Trump’s team over the use of her music, after a TikTok featured her song alongside a political message about transgender athletes.
On Thursday, August 20, the official Team Trump TikTok account posted a video featuring Grande’s hit song “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love)” while promoting a message opposing transgender participation in women’s sports. Grande responded directly, telling Trump’s team to stop using her music and rejecting the political claim featured in the video.
Grande Fires Back at Trump Team
The video showed Trump walking toward a podium at a rally while text inspired by Grande’s lyrics appeared on screen.
It featured the line “Me and my truth we sit in silence”, followed by the statement: “Men can’t have babies and should never compete in women’s sports.”
The Team Trump account captioned the post, “This shouldn’t be controversial!”, alongside hashtags mentioning Trump, Grande and MAGA.
Grande entered the conversation herself, replying in the comments: “Never use my music again. Also, your truth is false.” Her comment was later no longer visible on the post.
Why Grande Objected
The TikTok appeared during an ongoing political fight over transgender participation in women’s sports and the Trump administration’s policies concerning transgender Americans.
The issue has received renewed attention following a June 2026 Supreme Court ruling involving state restrictions on transgender women competing in women’s sports.
The Trump administration has also pursued broader policies affecting transgender people, including measures concerning military service and federal recognition of sex and gender.
By responding directly to the video, Grande made it clear that she did not want her music used to reinforce those political positions.
It’s Not the First Time
This is also not Grande’s first confrontation with the Trump administration over her music.
In June, the White House used her song “Bye” in a TikTok promoting the administration’s immigration crackdown. The video included footage of immigration enforcement operations.
Grande responded at the time, objecting to her music being connected with the administration’s policies and asking officials not to use her songs in that context. The track was later muted in the video.
A Growing Music and Politics Clash
The latest incident underscores how politically charged music use can become when artists and political campaigns find themselves on opposite sides of an issue.
For Grande, however, the message is now unmistakable: she does not want her songs used as a soundtrack for Trump’s political agenda.
After already objecting once, her latest response leaves little room for interpretation. Grande is not simply criticizing the message; she is demanding that her music be kept out of it altogether.
