Trump video removed after copyright complaint by R.E.M. publisher

A video tweeted by President Trump was removed from Twitter on Saturday after the publisher of R.E.M.’s songs complained about the band’s music being used in the video, CNBC reported.

Trump shared the video, which mocked Democrats with excerpts from his Feb. 5 State of the Union address. The roughly two-minute video featured R.E.M.’s 1992 hit single “Everybody Hurts” alongside close-ups of Democrats who looked displeased during Trump’s address. 

A lawyer for Universal Music Publishing Group reportedly asked Twitter to remove the original video on Friday after it was first posted by the user @CarpeDonktum.{mosads}

The video was not accessible on Twitter on Saturday afternoon. Trump later shared a different version of the video that kept the same images as the one before but instead featured Lee Greenwood’s song “God Bless the USA.”

pic.twitter.com/nJORBjwint

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 16, 2019

Mike Mills, one of R.E.M.’s founding members, asked Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey in a tweet on Friday to intervene in the initial video’s publication.

“The assholes @CarpeDonktum created the meme. #PresidentAsshole retweeted it. Measures have been taken to stop it,” he tweeted. “@jack you need to get on this.”

The assholes @CarpeDonktum created the meme. #PresidentAsshole retweeted it. Measures have been taken to stop it. @jack you need to get on this.

— Mike Mills (@m_millsey) February 15, 2019  

The user who first posted the video accused Twitter of censorship after the video was removed. Mills, meanwhile, celebrated the tweet’s removal.

Trump has drawn scrutiny for his use of copyrighted material before.

In November, he tweeted a picture of himself with the words “sanctions are coming,” a slogan referencing HBO’s hit series “Game of Thrones.” HBO, at the time, said it would prefer Trump not “misappropriate” the slogan to promote his administration’s policies.

The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment about the video with the R.E.M. song. A spokesman for Twitter declined to comment.

Updated: 2:57 p.m.