Donald Trump Reportedly Considering Targeting The Rolling Stones' US Visas Over Melania Movie Feud

US President Donald Trump is reportedly weighing whether to use US visa powers to hit back at The Rolling Stones over their criticism of Melania, the film about First Lady Melania Trump, according to insiders quoted in the United States.

The news came after the veteran English rock group were dragged, somewhat uneasily, into the world of Trump family cinema. Melania, which follows the First Lady during the 20 days leading up to her husband's second inauguration, features Gimme Shelter in an early sequence. That creative choice reopened a feud that dates back to 2016, when Trump first used the band's music on the campaign trail without their blessing.

An unnamed insider cited in the report claims there is now a 'growing belief' that the long‑running stand‑off between Donald Trump and The Rolling Stones has 'taken a sinister turn'. The same source says there is 'fear' within the band's camp that Trump could explore ways to hit back, potentially by highlighting 'issues around past drug histories and visa eligibility' in a bid to restrict their access to the US market.

Rolling Stones–Trump Clash Resurfaces Over 'Melania' Movie

The row over Donald Trump's use of The Rolling Stones' music is not new. During the 2016 presidential race, his campaign regularly played You Can't Always Get What You Want at rallies, including at the Republican National Convention.

The band publicly distanced themselves, posting on X that they 'do not endorse Donald Trump' and insisting they had 'never given permission' for their songs to be used.

A representative told Billboard at the time that The Rolling Stones had requested the Trump campaign 'cease all use immediately'. When the song resurfaced at a Trump event in 2020, the group threatened further legal action and signalled they were working with performance rights organisations to clamp down on any repeat.

The use of Gimme Shelter in Melania is more complicated. Representatives for the band say licensing was handled through ABKCO, the label that controls much of the Stones' classic catalogue, and that the group had 'no direct involvement' in the decision.

A source close to Jagger is quoted as saying that 'Mick's inner circle' do not believe he or the others were 'personally involved in backing this film in any substantive way'.

A separate insider claimed the band were not 'impressed' with the movie and had 'made that known in private'.

Yet producer Marc Beckman has pushed back on any suggestion of hostility from the band. He said the Stones were 'just like, "Oh, you're making a nice movie"' when approached about the music and insisted 'it's not politics', adding that they were ultimately able to 'get over the hurdle' on licensing.

Donald Trump, Visas And The Rolling Stones' Past

Several members of The Rolling Stones have well‑documented drugs and driving convictions, most of them decades old.

Jagger and Richards were arrested and charged with drug possession in the UK in 1967, although they ultimately spent only a single night in prison. In 1975, Richards and guitarist Ron Wood were arrested in Arkansas for reckless driving.

The band have toured the United States many times since, but those entries have always depended on the willingness of US authorities to grant visas.

The insider argues that if Donald Trump wished to be vindictive, he could lean on that history. Trump and the State Department, they said, could deny The Rolling Stones artist visas on 'criminal conviction' grounds, a power Washington has used before in other cases, including for drug offences similar to those on Jagger and Richards' records.

Melania has been widely mocked online, with critics ridiculing Donald Trump's attempts to market his wife as a 'movie star' despite reports of poor box office performance.