JMSN’s lawyers have sent a cease-and-desist letter to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, alleging that the Trump administration used his song “Love Me” in a taxpayer-funded advertisement without permission.
The letter demands that the White House stop all scheduled broadcasts, remove online versions of the advert featuring the song and provide a written account of every airing and online publication. The requested details include the date, time, broadcaster, market, programme and total media spending.
JMSN, whose real name is Christian Berishaj, is represented by former Barack Obama administration ethics official Norman Eisen, Democracy Defenders Action and the law firm Ballard Spahr. His legal team says the use of the track breaches federal copyright law.
Berishaj said on social media that he had never granted the White House a licence to use “Love Me”. “To anybody who has followed my career and knows what I stand for and built my career on, it should go without saying that I would never authorize my music to be used for ANY political agenda or campaign,” he wrote.
The song features in one of at least three adverts aired across broadcast, cable and streaming platforms. The campaign has had a combined spend of almost 2.5 million dollars, according to advertising tracker AdImpact, although the exact figure is not known because the White House has classified the spots as public service announcements.
In the advert, “Love Me” plays as Donald Trump says: “We will defeat communism, socialism and Marxism in America.” Images show the president at rallies, at the White House, with military leaders and holding the Fifa trophy, while text repeatedly declares: “America will never be a communist country.”
The advert also promotes the administration’s tax cuts and support for domestic manufacturing and law enforcement. It ends with Ultimate Fighting Championship chief executive Dana White describing Mr Trump as “the toughest, most resilient (man) I’ve ever met” and saying that nothing would stop him “from fighting so hard for the country he loves”.
A White House official has previously said the adverts are public service announcements and are “clearly not political”, noting that Mr Trump is not on the ballot in this year’s midterm elections and that the spots contain no call to action.
A White House spokesperson said the campaign was intended to remind Americans “to love their country and understand what makes it worth defending, at home, at our borders, and abroad”. The White House had not responded to questions about the cease-and-desist letter.
The dispute comes as taxpayer-funded adverts continue to promote messages associated with the president. One recent 30-second spot, titled “The Final Battle”, closely mirrors a video Mr Trump shared during his 2024 presidential campaign, but replaces the campaign logo at the end with the words: “Paid for by the U.S. Government”.
Some Republicans have also criticised the campaign. Senator John Kennedy said public officials should not spend public money on private adverts for themselves, while Senator Thom Tillis called the material an “inappropriate PSA” and compared its use of taxpayer funds to the approach of Hungarian leader Viktor Orban.
