DHS official admitted using Taylor Swift's music to bait media: 'Congrats, you got played'

A DHS official told Variety the department used Taylor Swift's music in a video knowing media brands would amplify it, telling the reporter: "Congrats, you got played." The Trump administration paired songs by Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, SZA and Sabrina Carpenter with ICE deportation content. Rodrigo called the pattern a "distraction" from other policies, NPR reported on 3 September 2026.