Donald Trump Jr. has defended country music star Jason Aldean’s song ‘Try That In A Small Town’, insisting it is not racist and describing the lyrics as ‘wholesome’.
Grammy-nominated Aldean, 46, released the song in May and the video on July 14.
Footage shot in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee shows Aldean singing with images of a BLM rally behind him.
‘Swear at a cop, spit in his face, throw a flag and light it, yeah, you think you’re tough,’ he sings.
‘Well, try a small town, see how far you get off the road: around here, we take care of ourselves.’
Critics said the song glorified vigilante violence and accused Aldean of racism. Aldean called the allegations ‘meritless’ and ‘dangerous’.
Trump Jr., 45, said Aldean had his full support and slammed Country Music Television for pulling the video from its broadcasts.
Donald Trump Jr. appeared on Megyn Kelly’s podcast on Friday and defended Jason Aldean
In the music video, Aldean sings in front of the Maury County Courthouse and an American flag, interspersed with clips of BLM protests.
“I think it’s crazy,” Trump Jr. told Megyn Kelly on his SiriusXM podcast. ‘This is what we see again and again, just a capitulation to the radical left.
‘I mean the song is 100% accurate – that it’s against the BLM/Antifa riots. It’s 100% true that this will happen in a small town if you mess with it. I wish the rest of America would do the same.’
Trump Jr. said he texted Georgia-born, Florida-based Aldean to show his support.
‘Jason is a friend of mine,’ she said. ‘I sent her a DM and I compared her lyrics to WAP by Cardi B.
‘It’s shocking that even country music television can seemingly deny their entire audience to Hollywood – and we’ve seen too much of that.’
Jason Aldean performs during CMA Fest 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee on June 9, 2022.
Alden’s video shows a flag being burned during a BLM protest
The setting of Alden’s video was considered provocative: Alden’s team said they were unaware of the history.
And he emphasized that the lyrics were not referring to racism, but rather defending the small town way of life. “I think his songs are healthy,” Trump Jr. said.
‘It has nothing to do with lynching. It has nothing to do with racism, but that is the problem. Literally, everything, everything turned into racism.
‘It’s the easy button of today’s radical left.’ Trump Jr.’s support follows the lead of his father, who defended the musician on Thursday.
Donald Trump called Aldean ‘a great guy who just came out with a great new song’ in a Truth Social post.
Aldean has been pictured with former President Donald Trump: He and his wife, Brittany, are outspoken Trump supporters
Aldean took to Twitter to celebrate releasing his new song to the public on July 14
Country music star used footage of Black Lives Matter riots for divisive lyrics
Ron DeSantis, Trump’s rival for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, also showed his support, tweeting: ‘When the media attacks you, you’re doing something right.’
Marsha Blackburn, the Republican senator from Tennessee – where Aldean lived for many years – said the singer was a victim of ‘cancellation culture’.
And South Dakota Gov. Christy Noem said the singer and his wife, former American Idol contestant Brittany Aldean, ‘have been outspoken about their love for law and order and their love for this country.’
Aldean himself insisted that the song was about ‘small town values’, and said he was unaware of the historical significance of the courthouse that served as the backdrop for the video.
He said the song ‘represents a sense of community that I grew up with.’
He tweeted on Tuesday: ‘In the last 24 hours I have been accused of releasing a pro-lynching song … and I (direct quote) was the subject of comparisons that I was not too pleased with nationwide. [Black Lives Matter] protest
‘These references are not only without merit, but dangerous. The song doesn’t have a lyric that mentions or refers to race – and there isn’t a video clip that isn’t actual news footage – and while I can try and respect others’ own interpretation of a song with music – that goes a long way.’
Alden, who was playing at a Las Vegas music festival in October 2017 when a gunman opened fire and killed 60 people, said he never intended to divide the nation.
‘My political views have not been something I have not hidden, and I know that many of us in this country disagree about how we return to a sense of normalcy where we go at least one day without the headlines that keep us up at night,’ he wrote.
‘But its longing – with this song.’
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