Cliff Notes
- Semisonic has publicly condemned the White House for using their song “Closing Time” in a video accompanying the controversial deportation of Venezuelan gang members.
- The band stated that they did not authorise this use and accused the administration of missing the song’s message of joy and hope.
- The deportations were met with criticism over due process, with Venezuela’s National Assembly president asserting that those deported lacked criminal records in both the US and El Salvador.
US rock band Semisonic criticises White House for using their song in video of shackled deportee | UK News
US rock band Semisonic has criticised the White House for using their song Closing Time in a social media post that showed a shackled deportee.
The Trump administration shared the video on Monday two days after hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members were controversially deported by the White House to a supermax prison in El Salvador.
The video, which also showed deportees boarding a plane, was captioned with the song’s lyrics: “You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here.”
Semisonic said in a statement after the video was shared: “We did not authorise or condone the White House’s use of our song in any way. And no, they didn’t ask. The song is about joy and possibilities and hope, and they have missed the point entirely.”
Asked about the video on Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said “our entire government clearly is leaning into the message of this president”.
US District Judge James E Boasberg had issued an order temporarily blocking the deportations on Saturday, but lawyers told him there were already two planes with immigrants in the air – one headed for El Salvador, the other for Honduras.
Ms Leavitt said on Sunday that the more than 200 people deported were members of the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang – which originated in an infamously lawless prison in the central Venezuelan state of Aragua.
It came before Jorge Rodriguez, the president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, said those who were deported were denied due process.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Mr Rodriguez said the people deported were not known to have committed any crimes in the United States or El Salvador, and that Venezuela would do everything it can to have them returned home.
It also emerged on Monday that the US Justice Department is seeking to remove Mr Boasberg as the judge presiding over the Venezuelan deportation case.
The request to remove Mr Boasberg came just before a hearing in his Washington courtroom began on the matter n Monday evening.
Band join exclusive club
Semisonic join a long list of performers who have objected to Donald Trump using their songs, including Abba, Bruce Springsteen, Rihanna, Phil Collins, Pharrell, John Fogerty, Neil Young, Eddy Grant, Panic! at the Disco, R.E.M., Guns N’ Roses, Celine Dion, Beyonce and Adele.
Closing Time is from the band’s 1998 album Feeling Strangely Fine, which peaked at number 43 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
The song hit number four on Billboard’s Adult Alternative Airplay chart and earned a Grammy nomination for best rock song.