What to Know
At this point, numerous artists have told President Donald Trump that he cannot use their music to promote his agenda, and some have even taken legal action against him. He generally does not take this well, but continues to use popular music anyway. Most recently, Sabrina Carpenter criticized the White House for using one of her songs for an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids video shared via social media. The White House’s response to Sabrina’s comment was about as mature and professional as you’d probably expect.
The controversy started with a video featuring Sabrina’s song ‘Juno.’
Whoever made the White House video seems to know a decent amount about Sabrina Carpenter. Presumably, her song “Juno” was chosen because she has playfully arrested people in the audience at her shows while performing the song.
Sabrina told Variety that the idea for the bit came from an “innocent concept of wanting to highlight [her] audience.” Because the song has a line that goes, “Wanna try out my fuzzy pink handcuffs?” she uses fuzzy pink handcuffs to “arrest” someone during each performance. The White House, however, took this fun and cheeky concept and used it for a video about ICE raids.
Sabrina was not happy about it.
For one thing, the Trump admin clearly did not get Sabrina’s permission to use her music. But also, the use of her song for that particular video was deeply offensive. Replying to the White House’s X post, Sabrina made her feelings very clear. “this video is evil and disgusting,” she responded to the video. “Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda.”
this video is evil and disgusting. Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda.
— Sabrina Carpenter (@SabrinaAnnLynn) December 2, 2025
The White House did not take it well.
The Trump admin is not exactly known for responding to criticism in a mature, level-headed way. So, it might not be all that shocking that when asked about Sabrina’s comment, a White House rep used the name of one of Sabrina’s albums and lyrics from another one of her songs to mock her.
“Here’s a Short n’ Sweet message for Sabrina Carpenter: we won’t apologize for deporting dangerous criminal illegal murderers, rapists, and pedophiles from our country,” a White House rep told Entertainment Weekly, referencing Sabrina’s 2024 album, “Short n’ Sweet.”
Then, the rep referenced her song “Manchild,” which pokes fun at immature men. In the song, Sabrina sings, “Stupid. Or is it slow? Maybe it’s useless? But there’s a cuter word for it, I know: Manchild.”
The White House used the song to suggest that Sabrina is actually the “stupid” one. “Anyone who would defend these sick monsters must be stupid, or is it slow?” they added.
It’s not the first time Trump has lashed out at a pop star. You might recall how he randomly took to Truth Social one day to assert that Taylor Swift is “no longer ‘hot.'” On social media, people have criticized the president for “throwing a tantrum” and “attempting to trash talk celebrities.”
Someone on Reddit summed it up with, “Why are they always beefing with female popstars?…Pathetic.” At the same time, people weren’t exactly surprised. Sarcastically, another person wrote, “Trump called a woman stupid?! I’m shocked I tell you, just shocked.”
