Ben Stiller has slammed the Donald Trump’s White House for using a clip from the 2008 film “Tropic Thunder.”
The White House post said, “Justice the American way” and showed clips from “Braveheart,” “Top Gun,” “Superman,” “Transformers,” “Iron Man 2,” “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” and more. Stiller responded on X and said, “Hey White House, please remove the Tropic Thunder clip. We never gave you permission and have no interest in being a part of your propaganda machine. War is not a movie.”
Hey White House, please remove the Tropic Thunder clip. We never gave you permission and have no interest in being a part of your propaganda machine. War is not a movie. https://t.co/dMQqRxxVCa
— Ben Stiller (@BenStiller) March 6, 2026
Stiller played Tugg Speedman in the 2008 satire.
This is far from the first time the White House and Trump have used movies or songs on social media to help praise the President or his initiatives.
Last year, he used Sabrina Carpenter’s “Juno” in a post that depicted ICE raids. Prior to the White House co-opting Carpenter’s music for its ICE agenda, it did the same with Taylor Swift. A video that dropped in November used Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia” in a montage celebrating Trump despite the U.S. president’s frequent social media posts bashing Swift. The pop star did not comment on the video.
“Top Gun” songwriter Kenny Loggins made headlines in October when he spoke out against the White House’s use of his hit song “Danger Zone” in a video that depicted Trump flying over No Kings protestors and dropping poop all over them.
“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,” Loggins said.
