Donald Trump Jr. has defended country music star Jason Aldean’s song “Try That In A Small Town,” insisting it isn’t racist and describing the lyrics as “wholesome.”
Grammy nominee Aldean, 46, released the song in May and the video on July 14.
The footage, filmed in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, shows Aldean singing with footage of BLM rallies behind him.
“Call a cop, spit in his face, stomp on the flag and light it, yes, you think you’re tough,” he sings.
“Well, try that in a small town, see how far you get on the road: around here we take care of ourselves.”
Critics have said the song glorifies vigilante violence and accuses Aldean of racism. Aldean called the allegations “undeserved” and “dangerous.”
45-year-old Trump Jr. said Aldean had his full support and condemned Country Music Television for removing the video from its broadcasts.
Donald Trump Jr appeared on Megyn Kelly’s podcast on Friday defending Jason Aldean
In the music video, Aldean sings in front of the Maury County Courthouse and an American flag, intertwined with clips from BLM protests
“I think it’s insane,” Trump Jr. said. to Megyn Kelly on her SiriusXM podcast. “It’s what we see time and time again, just capitulation to the radical left.
“I mean, that number is 100% accurate – that it’s against the BLM/Antifa riots. It’s 100% true that would happen in a small town if you messed around with that. I wish the rest of America functioned like this.”
Trump Jr said he texted Georgia-born, Florida-based Aldean to show his support.
“Jason is a friend of mine,” he said. “I DMed him and compared his lyrics to Cardi B’s WAP.
“It’s shocking that even Country Music Television can seemingly literally disown their entire audience, to Hollywood — and we’ve just seen too much of that.”
Jason Aldean performing at CMA Fest 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee, on June 9, 2022
Aldean’s video shows a flag being burned during BLM protests
The setting for Aldean’s video was deemed provocative: Aldean’s team said they were unaware of the history
And he insisted that the lyrics did not refer to racism, but rather defended the small-town way of life. “I think his lyrics are sane,” Trump Jr. said.
“It has nothing to do with lynching. It has nothing to do with racism, but that’s the problem. Literally, everything, everything has become racism.
“It’s the easy button of today’s radical left.” Trump Jr’s statement of support followed a lead from his father, who defended the musician on Thursday.
Donald Trump called Aldean “a fantastic guy who just came out with a great new song” in a Truth Social post.
Aldean is shown with former President Donald Trump: he and his wife Brittany are outspoken Trump supporters
Aldean took to Twitter to celebrate the release of his new song to the public on July 14
The country music star used footage from Black Lives Matter riots for the divisive song
Ron DeSantis, Trump’s rival for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, also showed his support by tweeting, “If the media attacks you, you’re doing something right.”
Marsha Blackburn, Republican senator for Tennessee – where Aldean lived for many years – said the singer was a victim of “cancellation culture.”
And South Dakota governor Kristi Noem said the singer and his wife, former American Idol contestant Brittany Aldean, were “outspoken about their love of law and order and their love for this country.”
Aldean himself insisted the song was about “small town values,” saying he was unaware of the historical significance of the courthouse that served as the backdrop for the video.
He said the song “refers to the sense of a community I grew up in.”
He tweeted Tuesday: “In the last 24 hours I have been accused of releasing a pro-lynching song… [Black Lives Matter] protests.
“These references are not only worthless, they are also dangerous. There’s not a single lyric in the song that references or hints at race — and there’s not a single video clip that isn’t actual news footage — and while I can respect others to have their own interpretation of a song with music, this one goes too far.”
Aldean, who was playing the Las Vegas music festival in October 2017 when a gunman opened fire, killing 60 people, said he never intended to divide the nation.
“My political views have never been anything I’ve hid from, and I know many of us in this country disagree on how we can return to a sense of normalcy where we go at least a day without a headline keeping us up at night,” he wrote.
“But the desire for it – that’s what this song is about.”