Dead 'Air' for Trump: Matt Damon and Ben Affleck school ex-president on copyright

Despite the controversies and lawsuits involving Donald Trump, the former president still seems determined to return to the White House in 2024.

On Friday, June 9, Trump launched a promotional video on his own social media platform, Truth Social, with the aim of raising funds for the campaign.

The video, of almost two and a half minutes, combined current and archive images of Donald Trump, while in the background an inspiring monologue was heard. It's the spoken part that could bring the ex-president into serious trouble.

It turns out that this monologue is a fragment from the movie 'Air' (2023), in which Sonny Vaccaro, Matt Damon's character, tries to convince Michael Jordan to sign with Nike.

"Money can buy you almost anything, but it can’t buy you immortality," is the phrase with which the monologue begins.

Obviously, with the film released in April 2023, it seems clear that whoever edited the Donald Trump video has not taken the monologue's copyright into account.

Thus, as reported by 'The Hollywood Reporter,' Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have rushed to complain to the Republican candidate.

They have done so through their production company, Artists Equity, releasing a statement that is clear and concise about banning the explicit use of any element from the film.

"We had 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," the statement begins.

Photo: @ArtistsEquity / Twitter

In a second tweet, they explained the legal implications. "Specifically in terms of any & 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 other words, with the law in hand, they prohibit the dissemination of Donald Trump's campaign video with Matt Damon's speech in the background.

It is conceivable that, after mentioning the intellectual property and copyright regulations of the United States, they are willing to take action beyond a tweet. In case Trump persists in the use of material from the film, the artists could sue him.

Strikingly, the situation that caused this incident between Trump, Affleck, Damon, and, indirectly, Michael Jordan, is not new for the former president.

In fact, during his time as president of the United States, Donald Trump had already resorted to using various elements of 'Game of Thrones' and 'The Dark Knight' without the permission of their creators.

Something similar happened with songs like 'Hallelujah', 'I Won't Back Down' (Tom Petty, pictured), and 'We're Not Gonna Take It' (Twisted Sister), all used without permission for Trump's promotional videos.

Yet, with 'Air', Trump has taken things to another level. It is the first time that he used a complete fragment of a film. Which doesn't help his case.