The White House has reignited its public feud with singer Sabrina Carpenter, deploying a heavily edited clip from Saturday Night Live to taunt the pop star after she condemned the use of her music to promote immigration arrests.
A Defiant Social Media Retort
On Friday, the official White House Instagram account shared a video splicing a promo for Saturday Night Live. The clip featured the 26-year-old singer and cast member Marcello Hernandez. In the original skit, Carpenter references her concert gag where she 'arrests' famous attendees for being 'too hot'.
In the White House's edited version, her line was altered to: 'I think I need to arrest some for being too illegal.' Hernandez replies, 'Oh well, I turn myself in,' before a Migos song plays over a reel of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests.
The post was captioned: 'PSA: If you’re a criminal illegal, you WILL be arrested & deported.' The move marks the second time in a week the administration has directly targeted Carpenter online.
Origins of the Dispute
The row began earlier in the week when a TikTok video set to Carpenter's hit single Juno was posted by the White House. The video celebrated recent arrests made by ICE and showed a montage of suspects being detained.
Carpenter responded swiftly and angrily on social media platform X. 'This video is evil and disgusting. Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda,' the singer wrote.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson hit back on Tuesday, using the singer's own lyrics against her. 'Here’s a Short n’ Sweet message for Sabrina Carpenter: we won’t apologize for deporting dangerous criminal illegal murderers, rapists, and pedophiles from our country,' Jackson stated.
She then referenced lyrics from Carpenter's track Manchild, adding: 'Anyone who would defend these sick monsters must be stupid, or is it slow?'
A Wider Pattern of Pop Culture Clashes
This incident is not isolated. The Trump administration has repeatedly co-opted pop music for its political messaging, often drawing the ire of artists.
Earlier in December, Olivia Rodrigo's song All-American B**** was used in an Instagram video urging undocumented immigrants to 'self-deport'. Rodrigo fired back in the comments, writing: 'Don't ever use my songs to promote your racist, hateful propaganda.'
In October, singer Kenny Loggins publicly objected to President Trump's use of his 1986 track Danger Zone in an AI-generated video that depicted Trump as a fighter pilot dumping waste on protesters. Loggins stated the use was unauthorised and permission would have been denied.
Another post this month spoofed Taylor Swift's album The Tortured Poets Department, changing it to 'The Fate of America', despite Trump's history of criticising the singer.
The confrontation with Carpenter unfolds against a backdrop of intensified immigration enforcement. New statistics indicate the number of immigrants in ICE custody without criminal records has surged by 2000 percent since Trump's second-term inauguration in January 2025, reaching levels last seen in 2003.
Public reaction to the White House's tactics remains sharply divided. Supporters praise the administration's tough stance and its use of satire, while critics condemn the strategy as inflammatory and inappropriate. The Daily Mail has approached representatives for Sabrina Carpenter for comment but has not yet received a response.
