Semisonic Shreds Trump White House for Using Their Song in Deportation Clip: ‘Missed the Point Entirely!’

Grammy-nominated rock band Semisonic condemned the Trump White House for using their 1998 hit song “Closing Time” in a social media video showcasing deportations.

The White House shared the clip Monday, just days after controversially deporting hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members to a supermax prison in El Salvador.

The video, which featured shackled deportees boarding a plane, was set to the song’s lyrics: “You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here.”

In a sharply worded statement, Semisonic fired back:

The move adds Semisonic to the long list of artists — from Bruce Springsteen to Rihanna — who have objected to President Donald Trump using their music.

Asked about the choice of song during yesterday’s White House press briefing, Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt shrugged off the criticism: “Our entire government clearly is leaning into the message of this president.”

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is facing backlash after deportations were temporarily blocked by a federal judge, but by the time it was filed, two planes had already taken off — one to El Salvador, and another to Honduras.

The Justice Department is now pushing to remove that judge.