The "Hostile Government Takeover Song" From TikTok Is Making Its Own Viral Takeover
"We're in the middle of a hostile government takeover. I wanna talk about it but I'll be late for work."
Published Feb. 18 2025, 2:02 p.m. ET
For those who are finding the political landscape of 2025 a little intimidating, frightening, or disheartening, the internet is coming through with some commiseration content.
TikTok, particularly, has roared into anti-government overdrive, with content creators pouring their hearts into songs and videos meant to inspire people to keep hope alive. But also to just realize that they're not alone in wondering what exactly is happening in a world that appears to have gone mad.
One song to come out of TikTok in the early months of 2025 is known as the "Hostile Government Takeover Song," and it's definitely a tune you'll want to pull up on the queue and listen to. Here's what we know about it and why people are so overjoyed about stitching with it.
Here's what we know about the mega-viral "Hostile Government Takeover Song" from TikTok.
When TikTok user @agiftfromtodd filmed himself walking through his house and belting out a tune about the state of things in 2025, he probably didn't anticipate just how quickly it would blow up. After just two weeks, the song had already garnered over 5.3 million views, well over 1 million likes, and was the inspiration for hundreds, if not thousands, of stitches, duets, and covers of the song.
It starts with @agiftfromtodd filming from below and crooning, "We're in the middle of a hostile government takeover, I wanna talk about it but I'll be late for work." He continues, referring to former vice president and presidential candidate Kamala Harris "And if you're saying, 'Wait a minute, who [do] we have to stop this?' We had one, but you didn't want that lady in office."
He then sings, "Now that we're all part of a Nigerian prince scam, surprise, surprise, it end[ed] up being a white man!" This appears to be a reference to President Donald Trump, and also Elon Musk, who have been working to upend departments and agencies across the federal government. Todd concludes, "Oh, I just wanna know, what the hell do I do?" He then turns to the camera and muses, "Probably drink."
Like most TikTok trends, the song is making the rounds with plenty of interpretations.
The song is catchy, it's filled with ennui, and it appears to be exactly the vibe that content creators needed to spark their creativity all across TikTok and Instagram. A quick search for the song shows, at a glance, hundreds of stitches, duets, and tributes to the song.
Todd's video even made an appearance on John Oliver's Last Week Tonight, with the comedian host musing, "It is genuinely hard to summarize just how overwhelming all of this feels." John then pointed out that the "best incapsulation" he's found is from "this guy," which happens to be @agiftfromtodd.
And John isn't the only one to notice the song. Some videos stitching the original are musical accompaniments, with @veryveryvinny turning the song into a love ballad for the particularly despondent in 2025. Others are comedic reactions, or people simply gesturing along and showing that they feel the pain.
Is it the song we need to get us through 2025? Well, it's a little on the disheartening side. So it might not come with the inspiration people are hoping for.
On the other hand, for those who are feeling overwhelmed, they can rest assured that they're not alone. And Todd would love to talk about it, but he's off to work.