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Singer Kenny Loggins took to Instagram on Monday to condemn President Donald Trump’s use of his 1986 Top Gun hit “Danger Zone” in a political video posted on October 18. The AI-generated clip depicted a cartoonish “King Trump” piloting a fighter jet and dumping waste over demonstrators at the nationwide “No Kings” rallies that took place over the weekend.
Loggins called the use of his song “completely unauthorized” and demanded its removal, emphasizing that he was never asked for permission—and wouldn’t have granted it if he had been. “I can’t imagine why anyone would want their music tied to something meant to divide people,” he wrote. “We have too much hate already; we need to find new ways to come together.”
The controversial video marks yet another instance of the Trump team using AI-generated memes to taunt opponents. In this case, the targets were peaceful protesters calling attention to what they described as the administration’s authoritarian tendencies. When Entertainment Weekly reached out to the White House for comment, officials reportedly replied with a tongue-in-cheek Top Gun meme showing Tom Cruise and Anthony Edwards alongside the quote “I Feel the Need for Speed.”
Organizers said the weekend’s “No Kings” protests took place in nearly every U.S. state, totaling around 2,600 events and over seven million participants—one of the largest demonstrations in the nation’s history.
Loggins now joins a growing number of artists who have publicly objected to Trump’s use of their music. Recently, Blue Öyster Cult also criticized the administration after their hit “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” was used without consent in another AI-produced video featuring Trump and Vice President JD Vance in a spoof performance mocking Democrats.