Taylor Swift Songs Removed from White House, Trump Campaign Posts

Taylor Swift. (Reuters file)

07:31-10 August 2026 AD ـ 26 Safar 1448 AH

Taylor Swift. (Reuters file)

Some Taylor Swift songs have been removed from social media videos posted by President Donald Trump’s campaign and the White House, which has used two of the American superstar's songs over the past week.

The White House and a representative for Swift did not immediately respond to requests for ‌comment, according to Reuters.

Swift has not spoken recently about Trump, although she endorsed his Democratic rival, then-Vice President Kamala Harris, in 2024. During the 2020 campaign, Swift posted on social media that Trump was “WELL AWARE we do not want him as our president.”

Trump has repeatedly criticized Swift. After she endorsed Harris, the Republican said on social media, “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!” Last year he wrote: “Has anyone noticed that, since I said 'I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT,' she’s no longer ‘HOT?’”

Dozens of ⁠artists, including Sabrina Carpenter and Ariana Grande have called on the Trump administration not to use their songs.

The Trump campaign used two Swift songs over the last week on its TikTok page. One, playing on her lyrics, featured the caption: “Red (Donald Trump's Version). Red (Taylor Swift Wrote A Whole Album About Republicans). Donald Trump. Everything Has Changed (At Our Southern Border). Donald Trump. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together (The Biden Harris Administration). Donald Trump. The Last Time (An Autopen Runs The Country).” It referenced famous songs by the pop star.

In June, Trump's campaign posted a video on the short-video platform with Swift's new “Toy Story 5” song “I Knew It, I Knew You.”

In April, the White House shared a video showing the crew of Artemis II meeting with Trump at the White House the day ⁠before. The video used Swift's “High Infidelity” and lyrics from the song: “Do you really want to know where I was April 29th?”

The White House shared another TikTok video in November featuring “The Fate of Ophelia” from Swift's “The Life of a Showgirl” album, which had been released ⁠the month before. That video featured images of the US flag, monuments and various photos of Trump, including his 2023 arrest mugshot

That post garnered widespread social media reaction and led to a White House spokesperson telling multiple news outlets the video ⁠was created because the Trump administration knew news outlets “would breathlessly amplify them.”

The communications team for Trump, who is prolific on social media, has posted an array of hit songs with images including Trump's immigration crackdown, US military operations against Iran and the arrest of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Bollywood Actor Imran Khan Asked to Leave India after Participating in Protest

12 October 2026, India, New Delhi: Protestors confront the police during a demonstration by members of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and the All India Students' Federation (AISF) at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls. Photo: Yousuf Sarfaraz/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Asharq Al Awsat

09:15-15 October 2026 AD ـ 04 Jumada Al-Ula 1448 AH

Asharq Al Awsat

09:15-15 October 2026 AD ـ 04 Jumada Al-Ula 1448 AH

Bollywood Actor Imran Khan Asked to Leave India after Participating in Protest

Indian authorities ‌have asked Bollywood actor Imran Khan to leave the country by the end of the month, saying he breached immigration laws after joining a protest against the election commission chief, local media reported on Thursday.

-Khan, 43, is a US citizen, the Indian Express newspaper reported. Under Indian law, foreigners' participation in political protests may be treated as a violation ‌of immigration and ‌visa rules.

- Khan was given ‌until ⁠October 28 to ⁠leave the country, the Times of India newspaper said

- The actor participated in a rally in Mumbai on October 10, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over voter list revisions that critics and opposition parties ⁠say favor Prime Minister Narendra ‌Modi's party

- "Apparently I’m ‌going for a drive," the actor wrote on ‌his Instagram on the same day, with ‌a picture of him posing with a victory sign in the back of what looked like a police van

- A complaint was filed against ‌him at a police station in Mumbai, saying Khan had breached the ⁠law, ⁠and the Foreigners Regional Registration Office, a federal government agency responsible for tracking and monitoring foreign nationals in India, sent him a notice to leave based on the complaint, the Indian Express said

- Khan did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters

- A nephew of actor Aamir Khan, and hailing from an illustrious film family, Imran acted in several hit Bollywood films from 2008 to 2015, before suddenly retiring.

Entertainment

Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis Gets 40 Years to Life in Prison for Orchestrating the Murder of Tupac Shakur

Duane Davis is escorted by police from a sentencing hearing after his murder conviction in the death of rapper Tupac Shakur on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada, US. (John Locher/Pool via Reuters)

22:41-13 October 2026 AD ـ 02 Jumada Al-Ula 1448 AH

Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis Gets 40 Years to Life in Prison for Orchestrating the Murder of Tupac Shakur

An aging ex-gang leader was sentenced Tuesday to 40 years to life in prison for orchestrating the 1996 drive-by shooting of rap icon Tupac Shakur near the Las Vegas Strip.

The killing, rooted in a long-running gang feud, had gone unsolved for decades — captivating the public and tormenting Shakur’s loved ones — until Duane “Keffe D” Davis started bragging about it in interviews and a memoir.

Davis, 63, was convicted in August of first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon. A former leader of the South Side Compton Crips, Davis stared blankly at Judge Carli Kierny as she imposed a penalty that, even with credit for time served, won’t see him eligible for parole until he’s at least 100.

“You don’t get to take a man from his family, you don’t get to take his very life, his whole future from him and just walk away from it, especially when that man is Tupac Shakur,” Kierny said. “The world never forgot about him and his death and neither did Las Vegas.”

Davis, whose lawyer said he will appeal his conviction, is the only person ever charged in Shakur’s death. The late rapper’s legend has only grown in the years since, and his songs continue to resonate with themes of hardship, love and Black struggles.

Tupac's family describes their loss

Shakur’s sister, Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur, said it was hard listening over and over again to Davis describe how he hunted and killed her brother, cutting him down at age 25, just as his popularity as a musician and actor was peaking.

Gentle and kind, Shakur was his family’s protector, she said. Had he survived injuries that included the loss of a lung, he would have left rapping behind and delved into activism, treading the path of luminaries like Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., and perhaps even politics, she said.

“This man’s life mattered,” Sekyiwa Shakur said as family members cried in the audience.

Shakur’s brother, Maurice “Mopreme” Shakur, said the killing has been “devastating, heartbreaking and sad” for him, his family and Shakur’s fans.

An unsolved mystery for more than two decades

Davis spoke briefly in court, telling the judge he wanted pictures and other items that police took from his house. Asked if there was anything else he wanted to say, Davis said: “No I’m good.”

Davis was charged after giving interviews and publishing a tell-all memoir in 2019 detailing what he said was his role in the infamous shooting.

On the night of Sept. 7, 1996, Shakur was in the passenger seat of a black BMW with music mogul Marion “Suge” Knight when a white Cadillac pulled up at a red light. Shots erupted. Shakur was hit multiple times and died six days later, while Knight survived.

In his memoir, Davis explained he was seeking retaliation for Shakur and his entourage beating up Davis’ nephew hours before the shooting. He said he was in the passenger seat of the Cadillac and passed the gun to the backseat, where shots were fired.

Davis spoke to detectives years before but avoided prosecution because of an agreement he made with law enforcement.

During the weekslong trial, prosecutors relied on Davis’ own statements to law enforcement and documentarians. They argued Davis orchestrated the shooting and provided the gun used in Shakur’s death, which was the result of a rivalry between the South Side Compton Crips and Mob Piru.

Davis’ defense attorney pointed to a lack of physical evidence that connected his client to the 30-year-old crime, and he portrayed Davis as a liar who was trying to make money.

After nine days of hearing testimony in August, the jury deliberated for three hours before turning over the guilty verdict.

Insufficient evidence to charge anyone else

One Shakur fan, rapper Din “Lil Therapy” Malone, said justice is “halfway done” and wants to see other people charged.

“I’ve been grieving for 30 years plus,” he said at the courthouse Tuesday. “I still got a frog in my throat from crying.”

The three other people allegedly in the Cadillac with Davis have died. They included Davis’ nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, whom Davis said was the one who pulled the trigger.

Another name that has come up: Sean “Diddy” Combs. Witnesses testified at Davis’ trial that the imprisoned music mogul used members of the South Side Compton Crips for security for his label, Bad Boy Records.

Davis alleged in his book and public statements that Combs offered him money to kill Shakur and Knight. Combs, who is serving a four-year prison sentence after being convicted of prostitution-related offenses, has repeatedly denied any involvement in the death of Shakur.

Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson has said his office doesn’t have enough evidence to charge anyone else. If more information comes to light, he said, prosecutors can always consider filing additional charges.

“While no amount of time in prison can bring Tupac back, we hope this sentencing brings some measure of closure and peace to his family after nearly 30 years,” Wolfson said in a statement. The case, he said, “is a reminder that no matter how much time passes, our commitment to seeking justice never wavers.”

Entertainment

Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’ Tanks, Leaving Studio with $250 Mn Hole

Cast member Tom Cruise attends the “Digger” world premiere in London, Britain, September 22, 2026. (Reuters)

00:10-13 October 2026 AD ـ 02 Jumada Al-Ula 1448 AH

Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’ Tanks, Leaving Studio with $250 Mn Hole

Cast member Tom Cruise attends the “Digger” world premiere in London, Britain, September 22, 2026. (Reuters)

The Tom Cruise eco-satire "Digger," a movie that was supposed to herald the action hero's return to serious acting, has bombed at the box office, with industry insiders predicting it could lose a quarter of a billion dollars.

The Alejandro Inarritu comedy, featuring Cruise as an eccentric oil baron who must fix the problem he has helped create, was panned by critics and has left audiences cold, leaving studio Warner Bros. with a big balance sheet hole just as a merger with Paramount Skydance closes.

After two weeks in theaters, the film has grossed just $14.4 million in North America and $35.3 million globally -- tiny numbers for a big-budget movie that points to cumulative losses in the region of $245 million.

"Financially it has to be considered a disaster," Christopher Rosen of Hollywood trade publication The Ankler told AFP.

"It cost anywhere from $160 million to $180 million -- that's even before marketing -- and it's made relatively nothing at the box office."

Marketing for a movie like "Digger" can cost up to $100 million.

Daniel Loria of Boxoffice Pro noted that the film was greenlit under the tenure of outgoing Warner Bros. executives Pam Abdy and Michael De Luca, who made a name for themselves by giving filmmakers the resources and studio budgets to create original, innovative movies.

"Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't," he said.

As an art-house film that satirizes American culture through the lens of a non-American like Inarritu, "Digger" was perhaps destined to be a heavy lift.

"This movie was never going to get a general audience to get behind it, right? I don't think it was ever designed like that," said Loria.

"The film takes every opportunity to push the audience in uncomfortable directions.

"American audiences don't have the easiest time accepting films that criticize American culture, especially when they're made by foreigners."

- A potential mismatch -

The presence of Cruise -- a man sometimes credited with rescuing the box office after its pandemic slump with "Top Gun: Maverick" -- was always going to make the film stand out.

"You've got arguably the biggest movie star in the world (who) was literally everywhere for this movie," said Paul Dergarabedian, a market analyst at Rentrak.

"He was so excited about this movie and working with Alejandro Inarritu.

"By virtue of Tom Cruise's star power, there was a spotlight on this movie. Anything he does is going to be under a microscope."

The size of Cruise's star in the movie firmament makes the comparison even less flattering: "Digger" was never going to be in the same ballpark as the multi-billion dollar "Mission: Impossible" franchise.

But the film's box office does align with the kind of film that Inarritu makes, said Loria.

His movies "aren't really too worried about their box office total; they're worried about having an artistic endeavor behind" them.

That makes "Digger" something of a mismatch, said Loria.

"Unfortunately, I think this was marketed as a general audience movie, when at heart, this is an art-house film."

Taylor Swift Songs Removed from White House, Trump Campaign Posts

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Bollywood Actor Imran Khan Asked to Leave India after Participating in Protest

Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis Gets 40 Years to Life in Prison for Orchestrating the Murder of Tupac Shakur

Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’ Tanks, Leaving Studio with $250 Mn Hole

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