MAGA proponents were quick to slam a snippet of a new, apparently anti-ICE song that Zach Bryan posted online Friday, with the Department of Homeland Security commenting that the country superstar should “stick to ‘Pink Skies,’” referencing his 2024 song featuring lyrics about hometown pride.
The song snippet, which Bryan — a U.S. Navy veteran — posted with the comment “The fading of the red white and blue,” includes the lyric:
“I heard the cops came, cocky motherfuckers, ain’t they?/ And ICE is gonna come bust down your door/ Try to build a house, no bills no more, well I got a telephone/ Kids are all scared and all alone.”
While it’s possible that the context of the lyric might not be complete, and Bryan could be quoting something a character in the song says rather than making a statement reflecting his own views, his choice of the lyrics to highlight is probably not accidental.
A rep for the singer, who rarely speaks to the media and usually shares his opinions on social media, did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.
MAGA was quick to sound off online, as quoted extensively in the Daily Beast, and when asked for comment by TMZ, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin reportedly told the outlet that Bryan should “Stick to ‘Pink Skies.’”
The song snippet also includes references to “middle fingers rising” and Bryan’s caption, “The fading of the red white and blue.”
A video of Bryan performing an earlier version of the song containing the same segment can be found online; the version Bryan posted appears to be a more full arrangement.
Bryan has been photographed with President Trump in the past, and after last fall’s assassination attempt posted a video after the assassination attempt: “I don’t support Trump or Biden, but the man got shot in the ear, head, whatever you guys want to call it. And then: fist bump in the air! That is sick, dude!” He has tangled online with other singers, including Gavin Adcock, and even past collaborators over non-political matters.
Among the many pro-MAGA commentators piling on, the most comical was from one self-described as “Catturd,” who posted with wild inaccuracy that that the song was a “desperate Hail Mary” from Bryan, whose “non-career is in the toilet.”
Bryan has sold the equivalent of 30 million units in the U.S. alone, according to the RIAA, has amassed more than 16 billion Spotify streams, and set a record for the largest ticketed concert in U.S. history last month, drawing more than 112,000 fans to Michigan Stadium.
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