LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: 10/21/25

Tuesday, October 21, 2025

Kenny Loggins slams Donald Trump for using his 'Top Gun' song 'Danger Zone' in AI feces video

By David Mouriquand

Published on 21/10/2025 - EURONEWS

Loggins’ song ‘Danger Zone’ was recorded for the soundtrack of ‘Top Gun’ and was used in Trump's "disgusting" AI-generated video, published as a response to the historic No Kings protests.

Kenny Loggins has reacted to Donald Trump using his song ‘Danger Zone’ in the president’s “disgusting” AI-generated video showing himself wearing a crown, flying a “KING TRUMP” fighter jet and bombing a crowd of protesters with feces.

The video was published as a response to the historic "No Kings" protests which took place across the US on Saturday.

The American singer-songwriter recorded the hit song for the soundtrack of the 1986 Tom Cruise movie Top Gun. He has now called for Trump’s video to be taken down on copyright grounds.

In a statement to Variety, Loggins said: “This is an unauthorized use of my performance of ‘Danger Zone.’ Nobody asked me for my permission, which I would have denied, and I request that my recording on this video is removed immediately.”

He continued: “I can’t imagine why anybody would want their music used or associated with something created with the sole purpose of dividing us. Too many people are trying to tear us apart, and we need to find new ways to come together.”

“We’re all Americans, and we’re all patriotic. There is no ‘us and them’ — that’s not who we are, nor is it what we should be. It’s all of us. We’re in this together, and it is my hope that we can embrace music as a way of celebrating and uniting each and every one of us.”

Well put – especially considering the video has provoked widespread outrage online, with many expressing dismay over the way it shows Trump’s clear disdain for people exercising their right to protest.

Social media users accused Trump of having “the maturity and decorum of a 12-year-old boy”, while others commented: “Can’t believe that’s a president of a country.”

Many posts also pointed out that Trump’s “childish” and “disgusting” AI post revealed a transparent representation of his genuine feelings toward the American people. "It tells you everything you need to know about what he thinks about the people of America who are, in fact, America," one person commented, while another added: "Him taking a dump on the country is the most honest thing he's ever posted.”

This is far from the first time that Trump and his administration have used artists’ work without authorisation.

There is an extensive list of musicians who have objected to Trump’s authorized use of their songs. These include ABBA, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Rihanna, Neil Young, R.E.M., Woodkid, Beyoncé and Semisonic.

Sinead O'Connor’s estate previously issued Trump with cease-and-desist orders, while Isaac Hayes’ estate sued him for 134 counts of copywright infringement.

Céline Dion also condemned the use of her song from the Oscar-winning film Titanic, ‘My Heart Will Go On’, which was used at one of Trump’s rallies. Dion’s team questioned the song choice, writing: "And really, THAT song?”

Another band which added their name to the ever-growing list of artists who have sued Trump over the illegal use of their songs in campaign videos was The White Stripes. Last year, the rock band highlighted the “flagrant misappropriation” of their hit song ‘Seven Nation Army’. Jack White captioned a copy of the legal complaint in an Instagram post with: “This machine sues fascists.”

The most recent example to date is Metallica, who forced the US government to withdraw a social media video that used their song ‘Enter Sandman’ without authorisation.

"No Kings" protests - 18 October 2025 AP Photo

This weekend’s “No Kings” protests saw millions of Americans marching against Trump’s administration, opposing the president’s “authoritarian power grab.”

The 18 October protest, the third mass mobilisation since Trump's return to the White House, drew nearly 7 million people across all 50 states according to organisers. This figure would make it the largest single-day mobilisation against a US president in modern history.

Country Legend Sheryl Crow Shares Heated Political Message After ‘No Kings’ Protests

Millions of people across the country gathered to protest the Trump administration.

By Carly Silva

Donald Trump shared an AI-generated video of himself dumping feces from a fighter jet onto protestors, following US-wide demonstrations against his administration. This latest - but not uncommon - use of AI from the Trump administration has drawn widespread criticism.

Millions of Americans marched against Trump’s administration this weekend, with the “No Kings” march opposing the president’s “authoritarian power grab.”

Several Hollywood figures like Jimmy Kimmel, Spike Lee, Robert De Niro and Glenn Close joined the protestors and expressed their opposition to Trump’s presidency and the growing levels of authoritarianism.

Oscar-winning actress Jamie Lee Curtis posted a photo of a “no parking” sign with duct tape covering letters to read “no king.”

She wrote: “In this world of abundance and BIG, BIGGER, BIGGEST, it doesn’t matter if this was the MOST people ever turning out in protest, it just matters that we SHOWED UP, STOOD UP, said what we THINK and FEEL and now the HARD work. We have a YEAR to send a real MESSAGE at the BALLOT BOX which is our AMERICAN VOICE, and so, let’s get &$@KING BUSY!”

Instead of presidentially reacting to the peaceful opposition, Donald Trump posted an AI-generated video on Truth Social which showed him wearing a crown, flying a “KING TRUMP” fighter jet, and proceeding to bomb crowds of protestors with brown sludge which clearly looked like feces. All this to Kenny Loggins’ 1986 hit song ‘Danger Zone’ - an apparent reference to the Top Gun movies – and despite the fact that Trump insisted that he is “not a king” on Fox Business ahead of the protests.

The scatological video was shared on the president’s personal and government social media accounts, and joined by Vice President JD Vance’s very own AI video of Trump wearing a crown and cape.

This is not the first time that Trump and his allies have trolled their opponents by posting AI-generated images or ramped up threats using AI – one of the latest being his “Chipocalypse Now” image, which led Euronews Culture to ask: “Is the Trump administration culturally illiterate?”

However, this latest post has been widely blasted online as one of the most “pathetic” attempts to dismiss Trump’s critics.

Many expressed shock over the way the video shows disdain for people exercising their right to protest and the “insulting” dismissal of democracy – as if to prove the protestors’ point.

Social media users accused Trump of having “the maturity and decorum of a 12-year-old boy”, while others commented: “Can’t believe that’s a president of a country.”

Many posts pointed out that Trump’s “childish” and “disgusting” AI post revealed a transparent representation of his genuine feelings toward the American people. "It tells you everything you need to know about what he thinks about the people of America who are, in fact, America," one person commented, while another added: "Him taking a dump on the country is the most honest thing he's ever posted.”

Check out some of the reactions below:

Reacting to the post, former Secretary of State and Trump's Democratic opponent in 2016, Hillary Clinton, wrote: "He's definitely not mad that 7 million Americans came out to protest him yesterday...”

Trump and his social media team regularly utilise AI. Trump has been portrayed as the Pope, a suspiciously jacked Jedi and even Superman.

The use of AI videos and memes is his way of engaging in “memetic warfare” - a term employed by Kurt Sengul, a researcher at Macquarie University in Australia.

Sengul recently spoke to Euronews Culture about Trump’s use of generative AI, which allows the creation of an ecosystem where nothing appears to be serious. Trump’s stance is that if you get upset, it’s because you are “humourless and can’t take a joke,” according to Sengul.

Humour notwithstanding, the outrage at Trump’s recent video seems to be uniting those who affirm that “This is far beneath the Presidency.”

Opinion

Donald Trump’s “No Kings” sewage video is no joke

Chauncey DeVega
Tue, October 21, 2025

SALON

President Donald Trump speaks to members of the press aboard Air Force One on Oct. 19, 2025. Alex Wong/Getty Images

On Saturday, the “No Kings” protests against President Donald Trump’s authoritarian actions took place in more than 2,600 locations across the United States. An estimated 7 million people participated, dwarfing even the size of the first event in June, making it the largest single-day of protests in American history.

But instead of addressing their concerns, Trump mocked them.

On Sunday, he shared an AI-generated video “inspired” by “Top Gun,” the iconic 1986 movie starring Tom Cruise. (It even used “Danger Zone,” Kenny Loggins’ song from the film, which the singer demanded be “scrubbed.”) The fake video depicts “King Trump,” complete with a crown, piloting a plane and unleashing what appears to be human waste on No Kings marchers.

Since the president couldn’t stop the marches, he chose to descend into the sewer — and not just with the video.

Trump and other MAGA Republicans predicted violence and mayhem during what was referred to as a “hate America” rally. There was none. Republican Govs. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia and Greg Abbott of Texas mobilized their states’ National Guard in anticipation of potential violence. They were not needed. Trump and his mouthpieces, including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., slurred No Kings as “anti-American” and “hate marches.” They claimed No Kings was poorly attended and filled with paid protesters. In reality, the millions of people who participated in the No Kings marches were simply exercising their constitutional rights.

In a functioning democracy, massive public protests would send a loud, clear signal to the president and his party that they need to recalibrate their positions and behavior to maintain support and avoid being voted out of office, or at least to do a better job of persuading the public to join their side.

But America is no longer a functioning democracy. Norms about legitimacy and governance increasingly do not apply. Trump is an aspiring autocrat who is rapidly expanding and consolidating his power. He views public opinion as largely invalid, embracing instead a maximalist view of presidential power and authority where he is the personal embodiment of the state. The vox populi, the chorus of public opinion, should be silent and ignored unless it is praising him and his MAGA movement.

“In autocratic and illiberal systems, leaders consider demonstrations and street protests to be illegitimate, at least when the aims of the protesters go against the leader’s aims,” said political scientist Susan Stokes, director of the Chicago Center on Democracy at the University of Chicago. “Democratic leaders don’t love demonstrations against their policies and actions, but they tend to hold back on repressing the protests, arresting protesters whose actions are lawful, or using aggressive crowd-control techniques.”

Stokes compared Trump’s behavior to that of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: “They [turned] the same less-lethal weapons against anti-ICE protesters as did the Turkish authoritarian. In response to the No Kings protests, they were less [violent] but still tried to delegitimize the protests, accusing them of all sorts of treacherous commitments.”

Trump’s scatological video was predictably popular among his supporters. On Monday Johnson heaped praise on his tactics. “The president uses social media to make the point,” he said. “You can argue he’s probably the most effective person who’s ever used social media for that.”

Trump’s video was immature and gross. But it was also deeply dangerous. It revealed how the administration and its agents use spectacle and absurdity to reinforce authoritarian control.

The video showcased the president’s taste for “mediated destruction” and “gonzo governance,” said media and communications scholar David Altheide. “His regime seethes contempt for millions of Americans who took [to] the streets in opposing his dictatorial cruelty. The target, the graphic sewage, and the meaning are clear: You are all crap, worthy only of the weaponized poop stream on your heads. The gross humor has reached millions of Americans who oppose Trump.”

Want more sharp takes on politics? Sign up for our free newsletter, Standing Room Only, written by Amanda Marcotte, now also a weekly show on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

Trump’s message, Altheide said, was clear: “Any person, institution, organization, or entity that opposes Trump and his MAGA movement are outsiders, beyond the pale, symbolic waste, the most vile, who can be deported or otherwise dealt with.”

In a press availability aboard Air Force One on Sunday, the president doubled down: “I looked at the people. They are not representative of this country.”

The president’s AI-generated videos and images have been potent propaganda tools for him to emotionally train and condition the American public into a state of exhaustion, confusion and nihilism where they no longer know what is real. This behavior also reduces serious political and societal matters to digital memes, jokes and ephemera, compromising reality testing and making truth itself unknowable.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has used similar methods to disorient and pacify the Russian public.

The intention is obvious: After a conditioning period, the only certainty — and reality — that remains exists in the form of the Great Leader. Trump has repeatedly warned his MAGA followers to not believe their “lying eyes,” to only trust him — that he possesses great and secret knowledge. He alone can fix it.

And yet Trump’s popularity is slipping. Polls show that more Americans fear for democracy’s future under his leadership. But the Democrats shouldn’t celebrate too soon; they are also unpopular.

Since Trump returned to office, many centrist and liberal political observers, as well as the mainstream media, have been wish-casting. They imagine the American people as a “sleeping giant” that will inevitably rise up against Trumpism and restore democracy. But the truth is dissonant, as Stokes pointed out.

“We live in a strange country in which the government acts as though it’s an autocracy while many in civil society act as though we are still a democracy,” she said. “One way to keep the democracy vital is to exercise our rights. If we act like we live in a country in which rights to free speech and free assembly are protected, then we help keep these rights alive. If we stop exercising our rights they will, like muscles, atrophy.”

The No Kings protests show that resistance to Trumpism is growing. But rallies are just a first step; without sustained action, hope is hollow.

Sir Winston Churchill famously said that “You can always count on Americans to do the right thing — after they’ve tried everything else.” As despair and justified rage fuel authoritarian fake populism both here and abroad, Churchill’s words ring painfully true.

The post Donald Trump’s “No Kings” sewage video is no joke appeared first on Salon.com.

Vietnam’s love affair with gas bikes is colliding with a new electric reality

GAS BIKES = DIY MAINTENANCE

Motorbikes and cars pass by a building that was once the Victoria Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, April 18, 2025.

(AP Photo/Thanh Hue, File) ·

ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL
Sun, October 19, 2025 at 9:05 PM MDT 6 min read

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam is split between two visions: the rumbling, reliable gas-powered motorbikes that now rule the roads, and sleek, silent electric bikes the government says are its future.

Hanoi plans to ban fossil-fuel motorcycles from its city center in July 2026, part of a national drive to cut emissions and air pollution. Its commercial capital, Ho Chi Minh City, is weighing a similar step. By 2030, Vietnam aims for a third of cars and more than a fifth of motorbikes to run on electricity.

Some see this as an opportunity to swap out smoke-belching engines for cleaner, quieter rides, But others remain wary. Gas-powered bikes are still cheaper, sturdier, and easier to repair. Many owners worry that electric models could fall short on range, affordability, and charging convenience.

At the heart of the debate is the motorbike’s central place in Vietnamese life. The country’s 77 million two-wheelers — including 7 million in Hanoi and 8.5 million in Ho Chi Minh City — power small businesses, shape daily commerce, and set the rhythm of cities. Shopkeepers pile goods onto scooters to push through traffic, while families squeeze three generations onto a single bike for the school run.

While delivery drivers and mechanics are scrambling, electric bike start ups are opening new retail stores and e-bike sales are climbing.

Vietnam’s biggest motorbike makers, Honda and Yamaha, say the 2026 timeline is too ambitious. Vietnamese electric vehicle companies — start ups like Dat Bike or the larger VinFast, backed by Vietnam’s largest conglomerate VinGroup — and the Chinese electric bikemaker Yadea are betting on an electric future.

Ta Manh Cuong, 45, a ride-hailing driver who earns about $20 on good days, calls his battered but reliable motorbike his “iron horse,” a slang riders use for their faithful companion through the city’s daily chaos. He'd be willing to shift to an electric bike, would even welcome it if it cost less.

“But right now I can’t afford to buy an electric bike,” he said.

Vietnam’s motorbike market, at about 3.5 million units a year, is the second-largest in Southeast Asia. It's also among the most electrified markets for two-wheelers, ranking third only to China and India, though electric motorbikes make up about 12% of total sales.

Electrifying remaining two-wheelers is key for cutting tailpipe emissions and clearing smog from the streets. EVs are more energy efficient than gas engines, said Zifei Yang of the International Council on Clean Transportation. About 70,000 deaths in Vietnam each year are linked to polluted air, according to the Boston-based nonprofit Health Effects Institute.

Unlike the car market, Yang added, motorbikes sold in Vietnam are made there. That means a shift to electric bikes could boost local producers, foster startups, and attract new investment. Vietnam’s transition could also shape other developing markets.

“These countries look at each other. Look at the experience,” she said.

Electric motorbike sales have surged since the ban was announced, with purchases of smaller bikes up 89% and full-sized bikes 197% in the first eight months of 2025. VinFast led as its sales more than quadrupled, outpacing Yadea and other local rivals, according to industry tracker MotorcyclesData.

Yang said government subsidies to scrap old motorbikes could help riders like Cuong. While better public transport in crowded city centers would also encourage the shift to electric vehicles. She added that ride-hailing fleets stand to gain too since they travel longer distances and electric bikes could help them save on fuel. Stations where riders can replace depleted batteries with a fully charged one instead of waiting for it to recharge would also help.

Yang said smaller batteries make home charging easier, battery costs are falling globally, and EVs are no more fire-prone than older vehicles, though such fires need special training and strict safety standards.

Ho Chi Minh City plans to replace 400,000 gasoline motorbikes with electric ones by 2028, starting with a 2026 ban on using gas bikes for ride-hailing and delivery. The city will offer low-interest loans, tax breaks and set up low-emission zones to curb pollution. In Hanoi, people affected by the ban can get $120–$200 in subsidies to buy electric bikes worth at least $590, depending on income, and won’t have to pay new registration or license plate fees until 2030.

VinFast looks set to profit from the transition. Its ride-hailing company, Green SM, surpassed Singapore-based regional ride-hailing firm Grab in February to become the market leader in Vietnam. It soon will launch its first battery‑swapping electric motorbike, selling for about $760. It plans, also, to build 150,000 battery-swapping stations nationwide within three years.

VinFast is partnering with Vietnamese banks to offer low‑interest loans and subsidies to boost electric vehicle adoption, including covering up to 90% of costs and waiving registration fees.

These policies and incentives can encourage more purchases of electric motorbikes, said Dat Bike CEO and founder Son Nguyen, but long-term success hinges on making electric bikes that deliver high performance, long ranges and fast charging at prices equal to or better than gas-guzzling motorbikes. “Incentives can help add momentum, but long-term success depends on building products that win on their own merits,” he said.

Dat Bike raised $22 million in September from private investors, nearly doubling its capital to $47 million. The company said it will use the funding to boost production, research and expand its sales.

Honda dominates Vietnam’s motorcycle market with a more than 80% market share. It sold about 2.3 million bikes in Vietnam from April 2024 to March 2025 and exported 300,000 more, cementing the country as both a top market and a key production hub.

Yamaha trails with about a 17% share. Through Vietnam’s manufacturers’ association, the two companies said the 2026 ban is too rushed. Honda only began selling e-bikes this year and warned that replacing millions of bikes quickly would strain consumers.

Honda and the Vietnam's motorcycle manufacturers' association didn't respond to requests for comment. Yamaha told The Associated Press that it was reviewing the plan and couldn't respond yet.

For now, many businesses are hedging their bets. Bao Ngoc Cao, who rents motorbikes to expats and tourists, said she was “terrified” when she first heard about the ban. Her business runs on the principle that bikes are cheap — costing about $80 monthly. Losing access to Hanoi’s most touristy streets would cut her off from her core customers, and while interest in EVs is growing, current subsidies aren’t nearly enough for her to replace her fleet. Still, she says she supports the ban in principle, welcoming the promise of cleaner air and healthier streets.

“We are just waiting to get more clarity and see what happens,” she said.

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