R&B singer JMSN said he is 'looking at lawyers' after a US government-paid television advert featuring Donald Trump used his song 'Love Me', a use he says he never authorised.
The 30-second spot is airing on Fox News and Newsmax in the United States ahead of the midterms.
The advert places a section of the track under a montage of Trump. Its chorus repeats 'I'll make them love me', while the president says, 'America will never be a communist country.' The tag at the end reads 'Paid for by the US Government'.
R&B Singer JMSN Challenges Use of 'Love Me'
JMSN, whose real name is Christian Berishaj, accused Trump of using the music 'illegally' in an Instagram post.
He described two possible routes. Trump or his team could have asked to license the track, in which case Berishaj said he would have refused, or they could use it without asking. 'Obviously it went the second way,' he wrote.
IBTimes UK cannot independently verify whether a licence was sought or granted. The singer's allegation, including his use of the word 'illegally', should not be mistaken for an established legal finding.
Berishaj said it 'should go without saying' to people who know his career that he would never authorise his music for 'ANY political agenda or campaign'.
The singer, who grew up in Detroit and was born to an Albanian father, also said he had no publicist and resented being forced to comment. 'I am looking at lawyers and handling this internally,' he wrote. The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast's questions about the advert.
Trump Advert Draws Questions Beyond the Track
The commercial features UFC chief executive Dana White, who says, 'He is the toughest, most resilient person that I've ever met, and nothing was going to stop him from fighting so hard for the country he loves.'
It also flashes claims about tax cuts, American manufacturing and support for law enforcement. Those are the advert's assertions.
A second issue goes beyond the song. The government-paid label has prompted questions about whether public money is being used for political promotion, particularly with the midterms approaching.
The Washington Post reported that federal law prohibits spending public funds on 'publicity or propaganda purposes', including communications that are 'purely partisan' and 'designed to aid a political party or candidates'.
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The White House disputed the political characterisation in a statement to the Post. It called the commercial a 'public service announcement' about 'reminding Americans to love their country and understand what makes it worth defending, at home, at our borders, and abroad'. 'The ad is educational and unapologetically patriotic,' the statement said.
Trump had previously told Republicans before the midterms to 'pretend that I'm on the ballot'. His instruction gives critics reason to scrutinise a government-funded message praising him, although the timing alone cannot establish whether the advert broke federal rules.
R&B Singer's Complaint Comes Amid Political Criticism
Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said in an X post that the advert could constitute 'felony criminal theft and conversion of government property for political campaign purposes'.
He also called it 'blatantly unethical' under federal ethics provisions restricting the use of government resources in campaigns.
