Trump Takes R.E.M.’s ‘Everybody Hurts’ Off Video After Complaint

President Donald Trump arrives in the House chamber before he delivers a State of the Union address on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. 

Photographer: Doug Mills/Pool via Bloomberg

Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

President Donald Trump tweeted a video Saturday where he re-issued similar footage as yesterday, yet replaced the R.E.M. song “Everybody Hurts,” which was originally played over the video content, with “God Bless the USA” by Lee Greenwood.

The newly issued video, showing the Democrats’ reaction to his State of the Union address, was tweeted after the president faced backlash from R.E.M. from using the song without the band’s permission. R.E.M.’s handle @remhq tweeted Friday night telling Congress and the media to "ghost this faker." Twitter later removed the video.