Another presidential candidate weighs in.
Earlier today, presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who’s running for the Republican party’s nomination, jumped into the ongoing controversy surrounding Jason Aldean’s current single “Try That In a Small Town.”
Released in May and written by Kelley Lovelace, Kurt Allison, Neil Thrasher and Tully Kennedy, the song takes a direct shot at rioting and looting in big cities while also taking a strong stance on gun control:
“Got a gun that my granddad gave meThey say one day they’re gonna round upWell, that sh*t might fly in the city, good luck
Try that in a small town
See how far ya make it down the road
‘Round here, we take care of our own
You cross that line, it won’t take long
For you to find out, I recommend you don’t
Try that in a small town”
He released a video for the song last week that features imagery of riots and looting from around the world, while Aldean sings in front of the Maury County courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee.
But many online have accused the outspoken country singer of featuring racist lyrics and imagery in both the song and video, with the outcry leading CMT to pull the video from their rotation. And still others cried foul on a pro-gun anthem coming from the headliner of the Route 91 Harvest Festival, after Aldean was on stage when the massacre broke out in Las Vegas in 2017.
In a statement released on social media, Aldean called the accusations “not only meritless, but dangerous,” pointing out that the video features real news footage and none of the lyrics reference race.
The song has climbed to the top of the iTunes charts amid the controversy, and many high-profile voices have jumped into the conversation.
Yesterday, Sheryl Crow tweeted her thoughts on the song, calling it “lame” and “not American or small town-like.”
And today, Travis Tritt jumped in to defend Aldean, saying the song is “simply expressing a point of view that many American people share,” while also saying that the views shared on social media don’t reflect the vast majority of the country.
Ramaswamy also came to Aldean’s defense, calling on him to stand strong against the critics and vowing to play the song at his rallies going forward.
And now another GOP candidate for president has weighed in.
Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida also came out in support of Travis Tritt in a tweet saying that the country singer has “nothing to apologize for,” and adding that “when the media attacks you, you’re doing something right.”
Aldean is good friends with former President Donald Trump, who has yet to speak out on the current controversy, but with his rivals coming out in support of Aldean, I would expect that we’ll see a statement from Trump sooner rather than later.
