President Donald Trump’s appearance at the NATO Summit in The Hague this week was already making headlines, but the White House made sure to turn it up a notch by pairing a video montage of the trip with Usher’s “Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home).”
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On Wednesday (June 26), the official White House X account posted a video of Trump arriving at the NATO Summit, dramatically set to Usher’s 2010 R&B single “Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home)” from his album Raymond v. Raymond.
The clip was captioned, “🎶 Daddy’s home… Hey, hey, hey, Daddy,” referencing the lyrics of Usher’s song and the unexpected moment earlier that day when NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte referred to Trump as “Daddy” during their bilateral meeting.
“You know, they fight like hell. You can’t stop them. Let them fight for about two-three minutes, then it’s easy to stop them,” Trump said of the Israel-Iran ceasefire tensions during a discussion with Rutte. The secretary-general responded, “Daddy has to sometimes use strong language to get them to stop.”
“You have to use strong language,” Trump agreed. “Every so often, you have to use a certain word.”
Later at a press conference, Trump appeared to embrace the nickname. “No, [Rutte] likes me. I think he likes me. If he doesn’t, I’ll let you know. I’ll come back and I’ll hit him hard, OK? He did it very affectionately, ‘Daddy, you’re my Daddy.’”
Rutte later defended the remark, adding that Trump was a “good friend” and insisting his language was a matter of personal taste. “I think he deserves all the praise,” Rutte said when asked about the U.S. president’s decision to strike Iran and push for a ceasefire.
The White House’s choice to soundtrack the footage with Usher’s “Hey Daddy” quickly went viral, prompting a wave of reactions across social media. The original track, released in 2010, appears on Usher’s album Raymond v. Raymond and peaked at No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
Billboard has reached out to Usher’s representatives for comment.
