Taylor Swift's song "Father Figure" has become unavailable on a Team Trump Instagram post promoting President Donald Trump's immigration record, prompting speculation that the singer or her representatives intervened to have the music removed. The audio disappeared by Thursday, Sept. 24, a day after the account published the post, but there has been no confirmation of who initiated the change.
The Sept. 23 post used artwork resembling Swift's "Patient Zero" promotional campaign and included a claim that no undocumented immigrants had crossed the U.S. border in more than 16 months. Initially accompanied by "Father Figure," the post subsequently displayed an Instagram notice stating, "This sound isn't available."
The disappearance quickly attracted attention because of Swift's history of political disagreements with Trump and previous instances in which her music was removed from White House and campaign social-media content. Neither Swift nor her representatives have publicly confirmed taking action over the latest post.
The Team Trump graphic declared, "Zer(illegals) have crossed our borders in 16+ months." The claim conflates two different immigration measures: the number of people apprehended at the border and the number subsequently released into the United States.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection data show that Southwest Border Patrol agents continued making thousands of apprehensions during the period in question. They recorded 6,068 apprehensions in June 2025, 4,596 in July and 6,321 in August, figures that were comparatively low but did not amount to zero crossings.
The Trump administration has separately emphasized its record on releases following apprehension. In a Sept. 9 statement, the White House said Border Patrol had gone 15 consecutive months without releasing an undocumented immigrant into the country, while CBP later reported a 16-month streak of zero releases.
That distinction was absent from the wording of the Team Trump post, which referred to people crossing the border rather than being released after apprehension.
A similar episode occurred in August, when Reuters reported that Swift's music had disappeared from several social-media posts associated with the White House and Trump's campaign. One Team Trump TikTok video had featured her song "August" alongside footage of Trump and first lady Melania Trump watching fireworks.
Neither the White House nor Swift's representatives immediately explained those earlier removals, according to Reuters. The latest incident has likewise produced no public confirmation that Swift requested a takedown or that Instagram acted following a copyright complaint.
Swift's relationship with Trump has been contentious since she endorsed his Democratic opponents in the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections. After she backed Kamala Harris in September 2024, Trump posted "I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!" on Truth Social.
He returned to the subject in May 2025, writing, "Has anyone noticed that, since I said 'I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT,' she's no longer 'HOT?'"
The latest dispute follows several instances in which prominent musicians publicly objected to the administration's use of their work. In December 2025, Sabrina Carpenter criticized a White House video that used her song "Juno" alongside footage of immigration-enforcement arrests.
"This video is evil and disgusting. Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda," Carpenter wrote.
Ariana Grande raised a similar objection in June 2026 after the White House used her song "Bye" in a TikTok video featuring federal immigration-enforcement operations.
"Please do not ever use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense," Grande wrote.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson defended the administration's video, saying, "what's actually barbaric, inhumane, and heinous are the criminal illegal aliens who have injured and murdered innocent American citizens."
Other artists have also challenged Trump's use of their music. In 2024, ABBA asked his campaign to stop playing its songs at rallies, with Universal Music saying permission had not been granted. Representatives for Céline Dion separately described the campaign's use of one of her performances as unauthorized.
Unlike Carpenter and Grande, Swift has not publicly objected to the latest use of her music. The Team Trump Instagram post remained accessible after "Father Figure" became unavailable, leaving the reason for the audio change undisclosed.
