Trump’s fake video featured ‘Danger Zone.’ Musician Kenny Loggins wants it scrubbed
Singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins is asking President Trump to remove the audio of one of his performances from a contentious AI-generated video which Trump posted on his Truth Social account on Saturday evening.
In the fake video, a crown-wearing Trump is in a fighter jet emblazoned “KING TRUMP.” Accompanied by Loggins singing “Danger Zone” – a hit single from the 1986 movie Top Gun – the plane dumps sludgy brown material over crowds of protestors carrying American flags and signs in what appears to be New York’s Times Square.
The video was published as an apparent reply to the widespread “No Kings” protests that took place across the country on Saturday. (On Saturday evening, the official White House account posted a fake image on Twitter of Trump and Vice President JD Vance wearing crowns, juxtaposed with a fake image of Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in sombreros.)
In a statement sent to NPR Monday morning, Loggins wrote: “This is an unauthorized use of my performance of ‘Danger Zone.’ Nobody asked me for my permission, which I would have denied, and I request that my recording on this video is removed immediately.” (“Danger Zone” was written by Top Gun‘s score composer, Giorgio Moroder, and songwriter Tom Whitlock, with Loggins as the performer.)
Loggins continued: “I can’t imagine why anybody would want their music used or associated with something created with the sole purpose of dividing us. Too many people are trying to tear us apart, and we need to find new ways to come together. We’re all Americans, and we’re all patriotic. 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.”
There is a long history of musicians objecting to the current president (among other political leaders) using their work to send political messages . However, such use is generally legal, as long as rights holders are paid correctly; the only use that performers and songwriters can specifically prohibit is the use of songs in campaign advertisements. Even so, many artists choose to make such objections public so that a general audience is aware of their stance.
NPR reached out to the White House for a response to Loggins’ specific objections, and his request that his performance be removed.
In reply, White House spokesperson Davis R. Ingle did not respond to NPR’s questions, but sent NPR an image from the film Top Gun of stars Tom Cruise and the late Val Kilmer, captioned: “I FEEL THE NEED FOR SPEED.”
Various musicians and their representatives, including the White Stripes and the estate of Isaac Hayes, have filed civil suits against Trump alleging copyright infringement. The White Stripes dropped their suit in Nov. 2024. The Hayes suit, which was filed against the president, his reelection campaign and the activist group Turning Point Action, is continuing to wend its way through federal court in Atlanta.
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