The family of celebrated American artist Norman Rockwell has blasted the White House for using one of his paintings to promote Donald Trump’s agenda.
On June 21, the official White House X account posted an image of Rockwell’s 1951 artwork Saying Grace, which depicts a woman and a boy bowing their heads in prayer at a busy restaurant while two male patrons do their own thing.
The White House shared the image with the caption “Worth Protecting” overlaid, along with the words: “The values that shaped America.”
When asked by The Bulwark and MS NOW’s Catherine Rampell whether the Trump administration had sought permission to use the work, Rockwell’s granddaughter offered a less-than-courteous response.
“Curtis Publishing holds the rights to that painting, but I am willing to bet they didn’t request them since they never follow copyright law,” Daisy Rockwell said.
“It goes without saying that they have completely misunderstood the meaning of the painting, which is tolerance for others and peaceful coexistence.”
The Trump administration has a history of using artists’ work without permission to promote its policies during Trump’s second term, including hardline immigration proposals.
This includes using Rockwell’s 1946 painting Working on the Statue of Liberty, adding the words “Protect your homeland” and “Defend your culture,” as part of a call for applications to become an immigration goon.
The DHS posted Rockwell’s Salute the Flag painting last August to urge its followers to “protect our American way of life.”
In July 2025, the Department of Homeland Security posted an image of Morgan Weistling’s painting A Prayer for a New Life, which depicts a white man and woman holding a baby inside a covered wagon in the Old West.
The DHS shared the painting—incorrectly labeling it as New Life in a New Land—on X alongside the dogwhistle message: “Remember your Homeland’s Heritage.”
In a statement posted on his website, Weistling said the DHS had “used a painting I did 5 years ago and re-titled it and posted it without my permission. It is a violation of my copyright on the painting.”
The childish Trump administration has also frequently rage-baited musical artists by using their songs without permission to soundtrack social media videos promoting its immigration policies.
Earlier this month, singer Ariana Grande criticized the White House directly on TikTok after it used her 2024 song “Bye” in a video featuring immigrants being detained by ICE agents.
“Please do not use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense. F--- ICE,” Grande wrote in the comments. The song was later removed from the video.
Pop star Sabrina Carpenter also criticized the “evil and disgusting” White House after her song “Juno” was used in another immigration raid video.
“Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda,” Carpenter posted on X in December 2025.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
