Donald Trump seemed to embrace Nike’s slogan “Just do it” by rolling out a campaign video on Truth Social that uses a monologue from “Air,” the new Matt Damon and Ben Affleck film that chronicles the shoe company’s explosive rise in the 1980s.
Artists Equity, the production company launched by Affleck and Damon, has denounced Trump’s use of the movie’s climactic speech. In the film, the monologue is delivered to a young Michael Jordan by Nike executive Sonny Vaccaro, played by Damon. In the Trump campaign video, the speech is used to rally donors.
“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,” Artists Equity said in a statement Saturday.
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The production company added that “in terms of any & all rights available to us under US 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.”
Trump is now cutting web videos w/ Matt Damon’s Air monologue as narration… pic.twitter.com/cBMBOaUr0Q
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) June 10, 2023
The film, which stars the Cambridge natives and Viola Davis, was released this spring and tells the story of how the now-iconic Air Jordan sneaker line began in the mid-1980s at the advent of Jordan’s legendary NBA career.
“Money can buy you almost anything, but it can’t buy you immortality — that you have to earn,” the monologue begins in the video, which Trump posted after his second indictment.
The audio plays as scenes from his political career flash on the screen and ends with a rally. It includes a link asking supporters for donations.
This isn’t the first time that Trump has faced backlash for using the work of artists without their approval.
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Those who have pushed back — filing cease-and-desist letters in the process — range from Neil Young and the Rolling Stones to Rihanna and Pharrell Williams. Trump also used clips from “The Dark Knight Rises” and “Games of Thrones” without permission.
As of Monday morning, Trump still had the video featuring the “Air” monologue up on his Truth Social profile.
Shannon Larson can be reached at shannon.larson@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @shannonlarson98.