Musician Kenny Loggins is asking President Donald Trump to remove an artificially generated video that features one of his songs. This is the latest instance of the Trump administration using others’ content to boost its political narrative.
On Saturday, as millions of Americans took part in “No Kings” demonstrations, Trump posted an AI video of himself flying a fighter jet that dumps feces on protesters. Loggins’ song “Danger Zone” can be heard during the entire clip. The video, which some Republicans said was used to make a point, was criticized by other groups as “deeply unserious” and “deeply unpresidential.”
Download the SAN app today to stay up-to-date with Unbiased. Straight Facts™.
Point phone camera here
How did Loggins respond?
Loggins released a statement following the video, saying he did not authorize Trump to use the song.
“Nobody asked me for my permission, which I would have denied, and I request that my recording on this video is removed immediately,” he wrote.
Loggins, Italian composer Giorgio Moroder and fellow songwriter Tom Whitlock wrote the song for the 1986 film “Top Gun.” The song has become strongly associated with jet fighters, as the film centers on a group of U.S. Navy fighter pilots.
In his statement, Loggins called for national unity while saying he didn’t understand why any musician would want their music to be used to divide the country.
“We’re all Americans, and we’re all patriotic,” he wrote. “There is no ‘us and them’ – that’s not who we are, nor is it what we should be. It’s all of us. We’re in this together, and it is my hope that we can embrace music as a way of celebrating and uniting each and every one of us.”
Have other artists complained about this before?
In the last year, nearly a dozen other musicians have criticized Trump for using their music without approval.
During the 2024 election season, five musicians spoke out against the Trump campaign’s use of their songs. Representatives for Beyoncé, for example, sent Trump a cease and desist after his campaign posted a video of him getting off a plane while her song “Freedom” played. Beyoncé granted Democratic candidate Kamala Harris permission to play the song when she came onstage during campaign rallies.
Trump’s team eventually deleted the video.
Celine Dion also criticized Trump’s use of her song “My Heart Will Go On.” Her team said the singer had not approved the usage and that she does not endorse any usage of it by Trump.
Has the Trump administration responded to the complaints?
Neither Trump nor his team has publicly spoken about Loggins’ statement.
Other publications, including Variety and NPR, reached out to the White House for comment. However, instead of receiving a response, White House spokesperson Davis R. Ingle sent an image of “Top Gun” stars Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer with the caption, “I FEEL THE NEED FOR SPEED.”
