Eminem Was Once Interviewed by Secret Service Regarding the Trumps—And It Had a Truly Quirky End

In 2017, Eminem found himself under the scrutiny of the U.S. Secret Service for lyrics he penned about then-President Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka Trump in his song Framed from the Revival album. Known for his provocative and often controversial lyrics, Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers, stirred up concerns within the federal agency tasked with protecting high-profile figures. The Secret Service became involved after a TMZ employee, claiming to be a concerned citizen, flagged the lyrics as a potential threat—only for the agents to rap along with Eminem during the interview. 

As per the report of HuffPost, in the track, Eminem rapped lines such as, “Donald Duck’s on as the Tonka Truck in the yard / But dog, how the fuck is Ivanka Trump in the trunk of my car? ... / ’Cause I feel somewhat responsible for the dumb little blonde girl / That motherf-ckin’ baton twirler that got dumped in the pond, second murder with no recollection of it.” This surreal and dark imagery raised alarms, leading to a formal investigation.

Documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request revealed that Secret Service agents took the lyrics seriously enough to interview the rapper. They questioned Eminem regarding whether the verses represented a legitimate threat to the First Family. However, the artist, who often uses shock value in his music, responded by rapping along with the agents as they read his own lyrics back to him. The Secret Service interview with Eminem concluded without any formal charges being filed, and the case wasn’t referred to federal prosecutors, as reported by People. 

Intriguingly, this wasn’t the first time Eminem had spoken out against Donald. He had been an outspoken critic of the 45th president, using his platform and lyrics to echo his agitation with Trump’s policies and divisive rhetoric. A while ago, in an interview with Vulture, he remarked, “He makes my blood boil. I can’t even watch the news anymore because it makes me too stressed out. All jokes aside, all punch lines aside, I’m trying to get a message out there about him. I want our country to be great too, I want it to be the best it can be, but it’s not going to be that with him in charge.”

In the same 2017 interview, Eminem added, “What he’s doing putting people against each other is scary fucking shit. His election was such a disappointment to me about the state of the country.” In a BET freestyle cypher called The Storm, which went viral in 2017, Eminem took aim at Trump, calling him a ‘b-tch’ and condemning his handling of issues like the Charlottesville protests and the NFL kneeling controversy. 

Circling back to the Secret Service, Eminem referenced the incident in his 2018 song The Ringer: "Cause Agent Orange just sent the Secret Service / To meet in person / To see if I really think of hurtin’ him / Or ask if I’m linked to terrorists / I said: “Only when it comes to ink and lyricists.” The song, part of his Kamikaze album, was a nod to the tensions between the rapper and the Trump administration.