The president is polarizing, and his inflammatory rhetoric has angered a wide-range of people. That includes many high-profile musicians.

Like most politicians, Donald Trump uses a playlist from prominent artists during his campaign events. Classic rockers and modern pop stars have discovered their songs used, without permission, during rallies and decided not to allow it. 

Here is a list of 14 artists who have publicly told the president not to play their music. We’ve also included a list of songs that Trump can no longer use. You can thank us later!

 

 

The Rolling Stones

Both Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones have been very vocal about Trump’s use of “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” at campaign events. The band sent cease and desist letters after Trump used the track in 2016. When the president used the song again in June of this year, the Stones threatened legal action.

 

Elton John

Elton John said it was nothing personal, but he didn’t like Trump using his songs “Rocket Man” and “Tiny Dancer” at rallies. John said that because he was British, his music didn’t have a place in American politics and joked that a Ted Nugent song might be a more appropriate choice.

 

Adele

In 2016, Trump used the songs “Rolling In the Deep” and “Skyfall” at campaign rallies. Adele didn’t take any legal action against the then-candidate, but she did make it clear she disapproved of her music’s use in that context. She later endorsed Hillary Clinton.

 

Prince

Prince’s estate, which has always taken great care to crack down on copyright violations, condemned Trump’s use of “Purple Rain” in 2019. The estate even produced a letter that the campaign had sent in 2018, in which the campaign promised not to use Prince songs at events and acknowledged that it had not acquired any rights to do so.

 

Rihanna

Trump made the mistake of playing the Rihanna track “Please Don’t Stop the Music” at rallies in 2018. She immediately released a comment that made it clear she had no affiliations with the president. She’s also threatened legal action.

 

Neil Young

Neil Young has conceded that he probably doesn’t have any grounds for suing Trump. But that doesn’t mean he can’t be vocal about his opposition to Trump’s use of his song “Rockin’ In the Free World.” Earlier this year, Young wrote an open letter to Trump and didn’t pull any punches. “You are a disgrace to my county,” he wrote.

 

Bruce Springsteen

Instead of taking legal action, Bruce Springsteen took the streets when Trump began using his music at campaign events. When he discovered “Born In the U.S.A.” was being used at rallies in 2016, Springsteen proudly endorsed Hillary Clinton and campaigned on her behalf. It didn’t take long for the Trump organization to stop using the song at events when supporters started booing loudly every time it was played.

 

Panic! At the Disco

Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco put it short and sweet in June when he tweeted the president and told him to stop playing “High Hopes” at rallies. Urie has also encouraged fans to register to vote and get Trump out of office.

 

Queen

Trump picked the Queen song “We Are the Champions” as his “theme song” for the 2016 Republican National Convention. Brian May was quick to condemn the move and made it clear the campaign did not have permission to use the song. This year, the Trump organization used “We Will Rock You” in a video posted to Triller, a TikTok competitor. The band has threatened legal action but has yet to take any exact steps toward suing the president.

 

Linkin Park

Before his passing in 2017, Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington called Trump “a greater threat to the U.S.A. than terrorism.” When Trump retweeted a fan-made video that included the Linkin Park song “In The End” in July, fans were outraged, and the band immediately requested that Twitter remove it. Linkin Park also sent a cease and desist letter and issued a statement distancing itself from the president.

 

Guns N’ Roses

Earlier this year, Trump visited a factory in Arizona that produces N95 masks. The president himself refused to wear a mask, despite the coronavirus pandemic. During that visit, the Guns N’ Roses hit “Live And Let Die” played. Axl Rose immediately criticized the use of his band’s song and made a T-shirt that mocked the incident. All profits from the sale of the shirts have been donated to artists affected by the pandemic.

 

Tom Petty

Trump used the Tom Petty song “I Won’t Back Down” at his first rally during this pandemic, which took place in June in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Petty’s family quickly sent the campaign a cease and desist letter and stated that Petty would never approve of his song used in “a campaign of hate.”

 

Aerosmith

The Trump campaign has also angered Aerosmith on multiple occasions since the president began campaigning in 2015. Trump has played “Dream On” and “Living on the Edge” at different events, and on both occasions, the band sent cease and desist letters.

 

Nickelback

Most of us probably remember the Twitter incident involving the Nickelback song “Photograph.” Trump had retweeted a video that included a selectively edited version of the song and music video. The band issued a copyright claim, and it was plucked from the site. But the incident benefited the band when Nickelback downloads increased more than 500 percent in the days following the tweet.