LOS ANGELES: Musician Neil Young has filed a $10 million lawsuit Monday (local time) against Donald J. Trump’s political action committee, Trump 47 Committee Inc., claiming it unlawfully used his song ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ as the president’s walkup music at midterm election rallies.
This marks Young’s second legal challenge against Trump over the unauthorised use of “Rockin’ in the Free World.” Young first sued Trump in 2020, with the case later settled. However, the singer’s latest lawsuit alleged that Trump has resumed using the track in violation of the terms of that settlement, as per Variety.
Neil Young has filed a $10 million lawsuit against Donald Trump, alleging copyright infringement over the ongoing use of Young’s song “Rockin’ in the Free World” as the president’s walk-up music at midterm election rallies.
The suit says the classic 1989 song is “a blistering anthem that contrasts the hollow promises of American political rhetoric with the harsh realities faced by the poor, homeless and forgotten. The lyrics pain vivid street-level portraits — a mother discarding her baby, addicts lost in despair, garbage piling in the shadows of prosperity — while the repeated chorus delivers a savage irony, celebrating freedom that clearly isn’t shared by all. In short, the song is the opposite of everything that Donald J. Trump stands for.”
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— Variety (@Variety) October 26, 2026
The suit stated that the classic 1989 song is “a blistering anthem that contrasts the hollow promises of American political rhetoric with the harsh realities faced by the poor, homeless and forgotten. The lyrics pain vivid street-level portraits — a mother discarding her baby, addicts lost in despair, garbage piling in the shadows of prosperity — while the repeated chorus delivers a savage irony, celebrating freedom that clearly isn’t shared by all. In short, the song is the opposite of everything that Donald J. Trump stands for.”
According to Variety, the suit cited that Trump “is now and at the time of all rallies this year was personally aware that a license would be required to play the song at rallies and that Young has not, and would not, grant the required license”.
Young has been among the most vocal of all musicians going public with vociferous opposition to Trump. (ANI)
