The singer whose voice repeats “Love me” in a taxpayer-funded ad glorifying President Donald Trump is threatening legal action against the Trump administration and demanding to know how much public money it spent airing the spot.
I obtained a copy of the letter, in which attorneys for JMSN have demanded that White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and the Trump administration immediately cease using JMSN’s song “Love Me” in the advertisement.
The letter identifies the ad as “The Country He Loves.”
On the official White House YouTube channel, it is titled “America Will Never Be A Socialist/Communist Country.”
This is the same ad that first hit the television airwaves on Wednesday, September 23, airing on Fox News and later Newsmax.
At the time, AdImpact, which tracks media spending, put the ad buy at approximately $14,000.
I reported on the advertisement when it first aired. You can read about that here.
The letter demands that the government immediately pull the advertisement, which uses his music without permission, and provide written confirmation by Thursday that the unauthorized use has stopped.
The letter says the Trump administration’s unauthorized use of “Love Me” violates federal copyright law as well as the Lanham Act, which prohibits false endorsements or associations.
JMSN’s attorneys argue that using his song in the ad creates the false impression that he is connected to or affiliated with the Trump administration.
They make his position explicit: “He is not.”
The letter says JMSN does not want to be viewed as directly or indirectly affiliated with Trump or his administration.
Specifically, the letter demands that the Trump administration “Cease and desist any use of the Song and/or any of the intellectual property of JMSN, including in the Advertisement or any other advertisement, broadcast, or promotional material.”
It also demands that the Trump administration:
“Immediately withdraw the Advertisement from all scheduled airings and instruct, in writing, every network, station, cable or satellite provider, streaming service, and media buyer carrying the Advertisement to stop airing it.”
“Remove and take down all online copies of the Advertisement and any other videos or posts containing the Song, including but not limited to those on Facebook, X, TikTok, or YouTube.”
“Provide a written accounting of every airing and posting of the Advertisement, including the date, time, network or station, market, program, and total media spend.”
The attorneys further demand that the White House “provide written confirmation by 5 pm ET on Thursday, October 1 that the government has ceased its infringing activities.”
JMSN is represented by Norman Eisen, a former Obama White House ethics lawyer and U.S. ambassador who has himself been targeted by the Trump administration, and by three attorneys from Ballard Spahr LLP, a prominent media, entertainment and First Amendment law firm.
In March 2025, Trump issued a memorandum specifically naming Eisen and directing federal agencies to revoke any active security clearance he held and strip him of unescorted access to secure government facilities.
Eisen signed the letter as Democracy Defenders Action, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit co-founded by Eisen that uses litigation and advocacy to challenge threats to constitutional governance and election integrity.
The day after the ad first aired, JMSN posted a statement stating that he did not grant a synchronization license or master-use license for his song and that he would never do so for any political purpose.
Under U.S. copyright law, to use a copyrighted song in an advertisement, you need a synchronization license for the underlying composition, meaning the music and lyrics, and a separate master-use license for the actual recording, meaning the song you hear.
Often, these two rights are split among different people and entities. But in JMSN’s case, he owns both. He is the sole credited songwriter on “Love Me,” and the recording was released by White Room Records, the independent label he founded.
In Songview, the music rights database, the listing for “Love Me” shows that JMSN, whose legal name is Christian Andrew Berishaj, is the sole listed songwriter, and Crystal Berries Music is the sole listed publisher. JMSN is also listed as the performer.
The 50% next to Berishaj and the 50% next to Crystal Berries Music do not mean that someone else owns the other half. ASCAP divides a song’s performance royalties into two halves: the songwriter’s share and the publisher’s share. Here, those two halves account for 100% of the song’s ASCAP share.
ASCAP is the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. It is one of the major U.S. performing-rights organizations. In simple terms, ASCAP licenses music for public use — on radio, television, in businesses, at concerts, and on some digital services — and then collects and distributes performance royalties to the songwriters and publishers it represents.
As of publication, the ad is still available online on the official White House YouTube channel, with JMSN’s song synchronized to the video. It was first published on the channel on September 11 and has since received more than 31,000 views.
Since the ad first aired on Fox News, it has become a national government advertising campaign featuring at least three ads and costing at least seven figures.
One of the new taxpayer-funded spots is substantially the same video Trump used while campaigning for president, minus its campaign solicitation and with a U.S. government payment disclaimer added.
CNN now reports that Trump personally helped drive the ad effort and select footage, while White House communications staff produced the spots in-house.
The federal government has spent at least $1.7 million airing the three ads, according to an estimate from AdImpact reported by ABC News.
At least $443,000 in U.S. government funds has been spent on the ad featuring JMSN’s song, dramatically higher than the roughly $14,000 initially spent.
The White House has yet to identify the department or agency, appropriation, or funding source paying for the advertisements.
When the ad first aired, it received an avalanche of criticism and demands for accountability from Democrats.
Some Republicans also criticized the ad. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) told reporters that it was “inappropriate” and compared the ad to Viktor Orban, the authoritarian former Hungarian prime minister.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) said, “I don’t generally like to see politicians use public money to pay for their own campaign ads.”
Since the ad first aired, Republican criticism has broadened beyond Tillis and Kennedy.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said, “I like the message, but it shouldn’t be paid for with taxpayer dollars.”
Sen. Mike Rounds said it was not something he would have done.
And now, beyond the questions over taxpayer spending, the White House is facing a separate legal challenge over the unauthorized use of music in one of the ads.
JMSN’s attorneys say he is reserving all available legal remedies against the federal government and that those remedies are “under active consideration.”
The letter also instructs the White House to preserve all documents and electronic records related to the matter.
Part of the reason the attorneys are demanding an accounting of spending related to the unauthorized song use is that it could help establish monetary damages if they decide to move forward with litigation.
JMSN’s attorneys say the White House has until October 1 at 5 PM to respond to their letter.
Note: This story will be updated throughout the day to include responses from elected officials, including the White House. It will also be updated with additional links and explanations relevant to educating my readers.
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Yashar, why do you choose to disable Pangram AI scanning on your pieces?