Trump Posts AI Video Using 'Danger Zone' Without Permission

President Donald Trump posted a 19-second AI-generated video on Truth Social depicting him as a crown-wearing “King Trump” pilot in a jet labeled “King Trump” dumping brown sludge onto “No Kings” protesters in scenes that appear to include Times Square. The clip used Kenny Loggins’s 1986 hit “Danger Zone” without his permission; Loggins said “nobody asked me for my permission, which I would have denied,” demanded immediate removal and urged unity. Loggins’s representatives say they are exploring legal options, though copyright ownership and licensing issues may complicate enforcement. The White House’s response included sending a Top Gun meme to Entertainment Weekly, and Trump reposted another AI clip originally shared by Vice President J.D. Vance. The video circulated widely across social platforms amid nationwide “No Kings” demonstrations reported to have drawn millions of participants. Critics and artists condemned the imagery and unauthorized music use as divisive and “unpresidential,” with Loggins and others framing the episode as an example of how music should unite rather than inflame.