Jason Aldean dedicated his controversial song “Try That In A Small Town” to Donald Trump on Sunday after the former president was shot in an assassination attempt.
A day after Trump was shot at a rally in Butler, PA, Aldean took the stage in Nashville, where he commented in support of the presumptive GOP presidential nominee. “President Trump’s a friend of mine so I want to send this next song out to him. We all know what’s going to happen come November, so it’s all good,” Aldean told the crowd according to videos of the concert captured by fans.
“Just goes to show you there’s a lot of bullshit in the world, and that’s kind of what this song right here was about, so this one goes out to the prez,” he continued before launching into the track.
The song — written by Kelley Lovelace, Neil Thrasher, Tully Kennedy and Kurt Allison — served as the lead single for Aldean’s 2023 album, Highway Desperado. The song has been criticized for promoting gun violence and taking aim at the Black Lives Matter movement.
The music video for it was also shot in front of the Maury Country Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, where 18-year-old Black man Henry Choate was lynched in 1927 after he was accused of attacking a white woman. Aldean said he didn’t pick that “building specifically for that reason” but admitted he didn’t research the location ahead of time.
Aldean has defended “Try That In A Small Town,” particularly since the video was released last July, with the clip shortly pulled from CMT. At the time, he wrote on Twitter, now known as X, “In the past 24 hours I have been accused of releasing a pro-lynching song (a song that has been out since May) and was subject to the comparison that I (direct quote) was not too pleased with the nationwide BLM protests. These references are not only meritless, but dangerous.”
He continued, “There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it- and there isn’t a single video clip that isn’t real news footage -and while I can try and respect others to have their own interpretation of a song with music- this one goes too far.
Trump was among the biggest supporters of Aldean’s incendiary track. “Jason Aldean is a fantastic guy who just came out with a great new song. Support Jason all the way. MAGA!!!,” Trump wrote on social media platform Truth Social.
After surviving being shot on Saturday, Trump took to Truth Social to share an update on his injury. “I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place.”
On Sunday, the FBI identified Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania as the shooter involved in the assassination attempt. The agency confirmed the investigation is still active and ongoing.
Authorities also reported that one attendee was killed, and two spectators were critically injured; all were identified as men. The Secret Service confirmed that it killed the suspected shooter, who attacked from an elevated position.