Trump White House Faces Cease-and-Desist Letter Over JMSN Song in Ad

Singer-songwriter JMSN is demanding the White House stop using his song “Love Me” in a promotional spot for President Donald Trump that was paid for with public money. 

Lawyers for JMSN, whose real name is Christian Berishaj, made the demand in a cease-and-desist letter sent to Trump’s Chief of Staff Susie Wiles on Monday (Sept. 28). The letter claims that the promotional ad, which has been running on right-wing stations like Fox News and Newsmax, as well as the White House’s YouTube page, uses “Love Me” without any proper licenses or authorization from the copyright holder. 

It also stresses that Berishaj would not have granted the White House permission to use the song if it had been requested. “JMSN does not want to be viewed as directly or indirectly affiliated with the President or his Administration,” Berishaj’s lawyers wrote, adding: “the use of the Song in this context, as part of an overtly partisan, political advertisement, is particularly damaging, as it could cause others to call into question JMSN’s artistic independence and integrity.”

Berishaj has been releasing music as JMSN since the early 2010s, and “Love Me” is one of his most popular songs, with over 138 million streams on Spotify. While the song was originally released in 2023, it got a renewed boost in late 2025 when it became part of a meme spoofing Drake song intros. 

The government-funded ad featuring “Love Me” began airing on TV last week. It includes audio of Trump saying, “America will never be a communist country,” while touting some of the president’s policies. The White House defended the use of public money to pay for the spot, saying it was a public service announcement because it did not encourage voters to vote or take any other action. “The ad is educational and unapologetically patriotic,” the White House said (via The New York Times). (A rep for the White House did not immediately return Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.)

Last Thursday (Sept. 24), Berishaj released a statement on Instagram slamming the use of his music in the ad. “[I]t should go without saying that I would never authorize my music to be used for ANY political agenda or campaign,” he wrote, adding: “I’ve built my career independently outside of any major system and have made it a point to not sacrifice my artistic integrity. I don’t have a publicist or anything so being forced in a situation like this and having to comment is ridiculous.” 

One of the lawyers representing Berishaj is Norm Eisen, whose group Democracy Defenders Action has brought numerous lawsuits against the Trump administration. In the letter sent to Wiles, Berishaj’s lawyers said the White House had until Thursday to confirm that “Love Me” would no longer be used in the ad.