“Nobody asked the Foo Fighters for permission, and if they did, they wouldn’t have given it,” the band says of the song, which was released at a campaign stop in Arizona where Trump introduced Robert Kennedy Jr.
Several artists have objected to their songs being used as soundtracks for Trump rallies. Among them is the Foo Fighters, who performed their 1997 hit “My Hero” at a campaign stop in Arizona to welcome Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on stage. Kennedy Jr. had suspended his presidential campaign and endorsed Trump in the November election.
The Foo Fighters have denounced the use of their song and said they did not give permission. But on Monday, a Trump spokesman claimed otherwise. “We have a license to play the song,” Stephen Cheung wrote in an email to the political website The Hill. He also tweeted at the band, using their song titles to troll Dave Grohl and his associates: “In times like these, facts matter, don’t be pretentious,” and hashtagged the Foo Fighters and linked to an Independent article about the licensing issue.
Since the campaign's response, the band has maintained that they did not authorize the use of “My Hero.” A representative for the band said in a statement: “The Foo Fighters were not asked for permission, and again, even if they were, they would not have granted it.”
Last week, the Foo Fighters said they would take “appropriate action” to prevent the campaign from using their music in the future, and pledged to donate any royalties they received from playing “My Hero” at the Arizona rally to the campaign of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.
This isn’t the first time the Trump campaign has faced a case over illegal music use. Last week, Beyoncé threatened to pull the plug on the campaign after Cheung used her song “Freedom” in a video for Trump on Twitter. Harris has been using “Freedom” as her unofficial campaign song.
