From immigrants to artists, a number of individuals have found themselves roped into a campaign they didn’t sign up for. It’s a tale as old as time: Politicians using people as props to advance their agenda.
Being a celebrity, walking by a rally, working at a factory, losing your home to a natural disaster — these are all things that increase the likelihood you’ll be featured, either knowingly or not, in a political campaign.
Take Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” which was repeatedly played at the Republican National Convention last month — even though organizers had no permission to do so. The unauthorized use of Cohen’s art to promote Trump’s reelection is not an isolated incident; his estate has threatened to take legal action as a result. From immigrants to artists, here are seven instances where unsuspecting individuals have found themselves players in a campaign they didn’t sign up for.
On Tuesday, Twitter removed a video posted by President Trump featuring Eddy Grant’s 1983 hit song “Electric Avenue” because it was a copyright violation. Weeks prior, Grant sent a cease-and-desist letter to Trump and his campaign after the Trump video, which mocked Democratic nominee Joe Biden, was shared by the president on his account, which has more than 85 million followers.
“They have sought to encapsulate my intellectual property into derogatory political rhetoric, further encapsulated in a video production that can only be construed at best as being wicked, thereby causing me considerable emotional distress,” Grant said in a statement.
His attorney Brian Caplan told CNN that “the removal of the video does not diminish the damages that have been sustained by reason of the two copyright infringements at issue.”
Three of the four tenants who appeared during an advertisement that aired during the Republican National Convention about the housing crisis had no idea it was going to be a pro-Trump ad.
The tenants told the New York Times they were contacted by Lynne Patton, a former party planner and longtime Trump associate who oversees New York’s federal housing programs, to chat about poor conditions at the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) buildings. The agency has long been plagued by issues, and the tenants wanted to bring attention to them. Patton told them the ad was for the Republican party only after the cameras were rolling. After being interviewed for more than four hours, no one indicated that their stories would be edited down to a two-minute clip to be used at the RNC with the purpose of bashing New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.
“I am not a Trump supporter,” Claudia Perez, one of the tenants, told the Times. “I am not a supporter of his racist policies on immigration. I am a first-generation Honduran. It was my people he was sending back.” Perez defended her criticism of the NYCHA, but was angry that she was tricked by Patton. Manny Martinez, another tenant who appeared in the video, said: “This was not an endorsement of Trump.”
Neil Young sued the Trump campaign in August for copyright infringement over the repeated use of his songs at the president’s campaign events. “This complaint is not intended to disrespect the rights and opinions of American citizens, who are free to support the candidate of their choosing,” Young’s lawyers wrote in the filing. “However, Plaintiff in good conscience cannot allow his music to be used as a ‘theme song’ for a divisive, un-American campaign of ignorance and hate.”
The rock star’s legal team is specifically objecting to the unauthorized use of “Rockin’ in the Free World” and “Devil’s Sidewalk.” Trump’s team had previously obtained a license to play “Rockin’” when he announced he was running in the 2016 presidential election, but does not have a license now. Young is seeking up to $150,000 in damages for each infringement.
President Trump broke convention tradition by broadcasting a pretaped naturalization ceremony that took place inside the White House during the RNC. None of the five immigrants who were sworn in as naturalized Americans knew the moment, perhaps one of the most important in their lives, would be used for political purposes at the convention, according to media reports. Not even Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, who officiated the ceremony, knew the tape would be broadcast.
“We had a number of [United States Citizenship and Immigration Services] USCIS employees there, as they do every naturalization ceremony, making sure that that ceremony goes off without a hitch,” Wolf said during ABC’s This Week on Sunday. “They were giving that oath of allegiance to those individuals there. And again, we’ll continue to do that, because that’s our mission at the department.”
There have been questions as to whether Wolf’s appearance violated the 1939 Hatch Act, an Act to Prevent Pernicious Political Activities, which bars most employees of the executive branch from participating in partisan political activities.
Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” was repeatedly played at the Republican National Convention, despite his estate outright denying organizers permission to use the song. “We are surprised and dismayed that the RNC would proceed knowing that the Cohen Estate had specifically declined the RNC’s use request, and their rather brazen attempt to politicize and exploit in such an egregious manner ‘Hallelujah’, one of the most important songs in the Cohen song catalog,” Michelle L. Rice, a legal representative of the late singer’s estate, said in a statement to CBS.
The estate is reportedly considering taking legal action, though they said if the RNC or the Trump team had requested permission to use another song, they might have granted it.
Trump loves playing “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” — even when The Rolling Stones has expressly asked the campaign to stop. Following the president’s reelection rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the band threatened to sue over the unauthorized use of the song.
“This could be the last time President Donald Trump uses Stones songs. Despite cease & desist directives to Donald Trump in the past, the Rolling Stones are taking further steps to exclude him using their songs at any of his future political campaigning,” the group said in a statement. “If Donald Trump disregards the exclusion and persists, then he would face a lawsuit for breaking the embargo and playing music that has not been licensed.”
In June, Tom Petty’s family sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Trump campaign following the use of the rockstar’s song “I Won’t Back Down” at his rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“Trump was not authorized to use this song to further a campaign that leaves too many Americans and common sense behind. Both the late Tom Petty and his family firmly stand against racism and discrimination of any kind,” the family said in a statement posted to Twitter. “Tom Petty would never want a song of his used for a campaign of hate. He liked to bring people together.”
Benmont Tench III, a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, agreed with the family. He shared an Instagram post that read: “I in no way approve of Trump even whistling any piece of music associated with our band. I hope that’s clear enough.”