Alternative 90s band Semisonic said President Donald Trump’s White House “missed the point entirely” about their song “Closing Time” and that they “did not authorize” the use of it for a viral deportation video.
“We did not authorize or condone the White House’s use of our song in any way,” a statement from the band to the Associated Press read. “And no, they didn’t ask.”
“The song is about joy and possibilities and hope, and they have missed the point entirely,” the statement added about the song.
It came after a video posted by the White House on X went viral, showing illegal immigrants in handcuffs being put on planes. The caption with the clip included a lyric from the song that read, “You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.”
During Monday’s press briefing, Daily Wire White House Correspondent Mary Margaret Olohan asked Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt about the viral video with Semisonic’s song.
“I think the White House and our entire government clearly is leaning into the message of this president,” Leavitt explained, “and we are unafraid to double down and to take responsibility and ownership of the serious decisions that are being made.”
“The president was elected with an overwhelming mandate to launch the largest mass deportation campaign in American history, and that’s exactly what he is doing and to this very day, we are now, I think 56 or seven days into the administration, by my count, the president still receives an overwhelming public support for the policies that he is enacting, so we are unafraid to message effectively what the president is doing on a daily basis to make our communities safer.”
🎶You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here🎶 @CBP pic.twitter.com/yWWhlvKQrb
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 17, 2025
“The specific video you referenced,” added Leavitt, “I think it sums up our immigration policy pretty well: ‘You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.’”
U.S. Customs and Border Protection also shared the White House post and captioned it, “It’s closing time. We are making America safe again.”
Semisonic’s “Closing Time” hit the charts in 1998 from their album “Feeling Strangely Fine.” It was a huge hit for the group, with it earning the band a Grammy nomination for best rock song after it hit No. 4 on Billboard’s Adult Alternative Airplay chart, the AP noted.
The band’s complaint against the White House joins a long list of other performers who have been upset about their songs being used by Trump in the past. That list includes the likes of Neil Young, Panic! at the Disco, R.E.M., Guns N’ Roses, Celine Dion, Beyoncé, Adele, ABBA, and more.
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