A new TikTok song is going viral for capturing the political anxiety of 2025 in just 30 seconds—and even John Oliver is calling it “the single catchiest song ever.” Todd (@agiftfromtodd), a musician known for his offbeat viral hits, posted “Hostile Government Takeover” on Feb. 4, 2025, striking a nerve with users who say it perfectly sums up the sense of dread many Americans feel under the new Trump administration.
“We’re in the middle of a hostile government takeover,” he sings. “I wanna talk about it but I’ll be late for work. And if you’re saying wait a minute, who we have to stop this? We had one but you didn’t want that lady in office.”
@agiftfromtodd ♬ Hostile Government Takeover – Todd (TJ)
Since Todd dropped “Hostile Government Takeover,” his video has been watched 5.4 million times, making his song the hottest — and most politically existential — single on TikTok. Todd has previously gone viral for a song posted during the Paris Olympics reacting live to the United States defeating Serbia 95-91 in the basketball semifinals (4.7 million views), and his song commemorating the existence of garlic bread (9.9 million views).
Commenters agree Todd’s newest composition is a bop, albeit, as @ninaminimum pointed out, a traumatic one. And longtime TikTok users could already predict what was coming next: Harmony duets.
The lyrics to ‘Hostile Government Takeover’ read:
We’re in the middle of a hostile government takeover
I wanna talk about it but I’ll be late for work
And if you’re saying “Wait a minute, who we have to stop this?”
We had one, but you didn’t want that lady in office.
Now that we’re all part of a Nigerian prince scam
Surprise, surprise, it ended up being a white man
Oh, I just wanna know what the hell do I do? Probably drink.
@agiftfromtodd x Moby duet
Since Todd blessed the internet with 30 seconds of musical perfection, his song has been remixed by Moby in a TikTok duet with over 600,000 views.
@moby 60 second remix of the best song of 2025… @Todd (TJ) ♬ Hostile Government Takeover – Todd (TJ)
“Moby making a cameo appearance in the season finale of America feels appropriate,” writes Shannon. “No big deal,” Nivek says. ”Moby out here just casually remixing America’s crash out.”
Musician Vinny Marchi also remixed the song, writing on his TikTok account @veryveryvinny “Your song deserved an EDM remix @Todd.” Marchi’s interpretation has since been streamed over two million times, and the single — now clocking in at just under three minutes — is available to stream on Spotify.
This collaboration between Todd and Marchi also served as the capper to the Season 12 premiere of John Oliver’s show, Last Week Tonight. Oliver rounded out his 35-minute return to the airwaves by warning that what’s ahead for Americans is “going to be exhausting” and to survive, Americans will need to find a balance “between acknowledging the hell of what is going on and finding joy that can sustain us.” He then introduced what he referred to as “the single catchiest song ever.”
Handling the news during a ‘hostile government takeover‘
As the Trump administration floods the zone with executive orders, abrupt policy changes, and a dismantling of the federal workforce, Americans are suggesting different approaches to dealing with the media.
TikTok user @dutchdeccc, a preschool teacher, recommends handling the onslaught of information by “tapping into your inner public school teacher.” He says, ”You’re always aware of everything going on in the classroom, but you know just how much energy to give different people, situations, etcetera.”
Todd offers a different conclusion at the end of his 30-second song. “Probably drink,” he says.
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