The Trump administration has faced backlash for using pop music to accompany deportation videos. A recent post on the White House’s official X (formerly Twitter) account showed detained migrants being escorted by border agents, set to Bananarama’s 1983 hit “Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye).” The video, which featured the song’s chorus—“Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye”—was quickly criticized online, with many accusing the administration of mocking human suffering.
This wasn’t the first instance of the administration tying deportation to pop culture. Just weeks earlier, a video featured Semisonic’s “Closing Time” while showing a deportation in progress. The video’s caption included the familiar bar-closing lyric: “Closing time, you don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.” The video was met with immediate backlash, with users calling the move “ghoulish” and “sociopathic.”
Critics slammed the White House for turning human suffering into a spectacle. One user described it as “state-sponsored dehumanisation—with a soundtrack.” Others accused the administration of mocking lives being torn apart, using suffering as a weapon, and celebrating cruelty. One comment even likened the video to how fascism speaks when it believes it is unchallenged.
Even some who supported strict immigration enforcement voiced concern over the tone. One person stated, “I want them gone more than most, but this kind of gross display makes you the villain. Do what needs to be done without these comical displays.”
Despite the backlash, the White House defended the video. A spokesperson highlighted the effectiveness of its immigration policies, pointing to a significant decrease in illegal border crossings. “In March, the US Border Patrol encountered just 7,181 illegal immigrants at the southern border, a 95% decrease from 2024 and a 97% decrease from 2022,” the statement said.
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