Trump Didn’t Get Authorization From Matt Damon & Ben Affleck’s Production Company To Use ‘Air’ Audio In Campaign Video

Donald Trump‘s use of an audio clip Prime Video series Air for a campaign video was definitely not approved, said Matt Damon and Ben Affleck‘s production company, Artists Equity.

Both stars worked on the sports drama that follows Nike’s inventive effort to recruit basketball star Michael Jordan for a shoe line.

In the Trump video, the motivational dialogue is played over slow-mo clips of Trump marching towards choppers, videos from his 2017 inauguration and news reports about his impeachment. The video closes with clips of Trump followers sporting Make America Great Again (MAGA) headpieces and shouting “USA” at an assembly center.

“We has no foreknowledge of, did not consent to and do not endorse or approve any footage or audio from Air being repurposed by the Trump campaign as a political advertisement or for any other use”, a spokesperson told EW. “Specifically in terms of any and all rights available to us under U.S. copyright and intellectual property law, we hereby, expressly give notice that in the case of any use of material from Air by the Trump campaign where approval or consent is required, we do not grant such consent.”

In a video that is roughly three minutes, Trump reuses an important lecture that Sonny Vaccaro (played by Damon) delivers to Jordan (Damian Delano Young).

“Money can buy you almost anything, but it can’t buy your immortality – that you’ll have to earn,” Damon’s Vaccaro says, as Trump comes into the structure to speak about his “American Story.”

Clips of Trump rallies and stories about his arraignment are shown during the monologue. “Everyone will be forgotten as soon as our time here is up, except for you,” the speech goes on. “You’re going to be remembered forever because some things are eternal.”

This isn’t the first time that Trump was used artistic works without consent. Copyright holders including HBO and the estates of Tom Petty and Prince, Queen and Neil Young, have sued Trump to stop the illegal use of their works.

In 2020, Young filed a lawsuit against Trump for using his tune to advertise a “campaign of ignorance and hate.” Five earlier, Young sued the Trump campaign for utilizing his song “Rockin’ in the Free World,” at his presidential campaign announcement in 2015.