White House Removes Video Supporting ICE Arrests Following Sabrina Carpenter’s Viral Reaction and Posts a New One

Sabrina Carpenter; Donald Trump.
Credit:

Taylor Hill/Getty;REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/Pool

NEED TO KNOW

• The White House deleted a video promoting ICE arrests that was posted on X earlier this week, only to upload a new video targeting Sabrina Carpenter on TikTok.
• This move followed Carpenter’s criticism of the administration for using her song “Juno” as the video’s soundtrack.
• In a post shared on December 2, Carpenter called the video and the use of her song “evil and disgusting.”

The White House has removed a video shared on X intended to highlight ICE arrests in response to a viral backlash from singer Sabrina Carpenter, who objected to her song being featured. Instead, another video has been uploaded to the White House’s TikTok account.

On December 1, the Trump Administration released a video showcasing recent ICE arrests with Carpenter’s hit song “Juno” playing in the background. The footage depicted immigration and customs enforcement officers making arrests while the lyrics “Have you ever tried this one?” were repeatedly heard. The White House’s caption read, “Have you ever tried this one? Bye-bye 👋😍.”

Following Carpenter’s viral criticism, the original video was deleted on December 5. In her comment, which accrued over a million likes, the “Manchild” singer condemned the video as “evil and disgusting.”

“Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda,” Carpenter, 26, stated in her post on X.

While the video has been taken down from X, it remains accessible on TikTok, albeit without audio. Instead, the White House has released a new video combining a clip of Carpenter from Saturday Night Live with arrest footage, overlaid with a voice recording of her joking about needing to “arrest” someone for being too “hot” with “illegal.” The caption reads, “PSA: If you’re a criminal illegal, you WILL be arrested & deported. ✨”

While on her Short n’ Sweet Tour, Carpenter would often jokingly “arrest” a fan (typically a celebrity) during her performances of “Juno.”

The audio in the original administration’s video was derived from a viral TikTok trend where users mimic various positions each time the song’s lyrics repeat. This trend is inspired by Carpenter’s stage performance.

In a statement released on December 2, Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, declared, “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. Anyone who would defend these sick monsters must be stupid, or is it slow?”

Carpenter joins a long list of artists, including Céline Dion, Bruce Springsteen, Linkin Park, Neil Young, and Olivia Rodrigo, who have previously voiced their discontent with the Trump Administration’s use of their songs in political contexts.