Trump
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Country star Jason Aldean turned up the political heat at his recent concert in Nashville on July 13, dedicating his controversial hit “Try That in a Small Town” to former president Donald Trump.
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The singer, who has long been a vocal Trump supporter, took his admiration to new heights during the performance.
In a TikTok video shared by user @susanelizabethphoto, the “Dirt Road Anthem” singer is heard saying, “What happened in Pittsburgh today with our former president, Mr. Trump, you guys know about this, right?
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“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.” He continued, “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 pres.”
Aldean also shared his support via Instagram, “This is what a warrior looks like! This is MY guy,” sharing the famous photo of a bloodied Trump raising his fist in defiance.
“Donald Trump, we are thinking about you and praying for you and your family. God has a bigger plan for you, my friend, and I think we all know what that is by now.” He also extended his condolences to the families of the victims affected by the incident, calling it a “cowardly act.”
The dedication aligns with Aldean’s ongoing support for Trump. He and his wife Brittany have been fixtures at Trump events and recently promoted merchandise supporting Trump’s campaign.
Aldean wasn’t the only musician to rally behind Trump following the apparent assassination attempt. Kid Rock posted a fiery video on social media, declaring, “You f— with Trump, you f— with me,” and shared a link to a GoFundMe page for the victims of the shooting, which has raised over $2 million.
“Try That in a Small Town” has been at the center of heated debate since its release, with critics arguing the lyrics promote vigilantism and contain racial undertones.
Aldean has consistently defended the song, maintaining it celebrates small-town community values.
The controversy surrounding the track, however, has not hindered its success; the song rose to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking Aldean’s first leader on the chart. It generated major buzz after CMT pulled its video after some labelled it as pro-gun, pro-violence and akin to a “modern lynching song”.
“Try That in a Small Town” also topped the Digital Song Sales chart and vaulted up the Streaming Songs chart, and topped Google’s 2023 Trending Musicians list, with “Try That in a Small Town” leading song searches.
Watch Jason Aldean dedicate “Try That in a Small Town” to Donald Trump in Nashville below.
Facing a sweeping racketeering case in Atlanta, former President Donald Trump has hired attorney Steven Sadow, a veteran Georgia criminal defense attorney who just represented Gunna in the high-profile criminal case against Young Thug and other rappers.
Sadow, who has also represented Rick Ross, T.I. and Usher in the past, filed legal papers Thursday morning (Aug. 24) in Fulton County Court stating that he was “lead counsel of record for Donald John Trump.” When reached by Billboard, Sadow confirmed that had been hired to represent the former president.
“The President should never have been indicted,” says Sadow. “He is innocent of all the charges brought against him. We look forward to the case being dismissed or, if necessary, an unbiased, open-minded jury finding the President not guilty. Prosecutions intended to advance or serve the ambitions and careers of political opponents of the President have no place in our justice system.”
Trump, who is expected to surrender to prosecutors on Thursday, is facing 13 felony counts as part of a massive racketeering case against 19 defendants accused of trying to illegally overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia. Fulton County DA Fani Willis filed the charges under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a state-level version of the federal RICO law used to prosecute drug cartels and Mafia families.
That’s the same RICO statute that the same Fulton County prosecutor used in May 2022 to indict Young Thug, Gunna and dozens of others over their alleged involvement in a violent Atlanta street gang. The case claims that their “YSL” is not really a record label called “Young Stoner Life,” but a criminal enterprise called “Young Slime Life” that committed murders, carjackings, armed robberies, drug dealing and other crimes.
Represented by Sadow, Gunna pleaded guilty in December to exit that case by taking a so-called Alford plea — a maneuver that allows a defendant to enter a formal admission of guilt while still maintaining their innocence.
At the time, Gunna insisted that the deal did not involve cooperation with prosecutors. But when he entered his plea, Gunna admitted in court that YSL was both “a music label and a gang,” and that he had “personal knowledge that members or associates of YSL have committed crimes in furtherance of the gang.”
Young Thug and many others are still facing those charges. A trial technically kicked off earlier this year but has faced long delays in selecting a jury to hear the case and has not substantively begun yet. Young Thug has repeatedly been denied pre-trial release on bond.
Sadow will take over representing Trump from Drew Findling, another Atlanta lawyer with an extensive history representing rappers in criminal matters, including Gucci Mane, the members of Migos and Cardi B in her recent microphone-throwing incident in Las Vegas.
Though Findling has not formally departed the case yet, a person with knowledge of the situation confirmed to Billboard that he will no longer be retained by the former president. Findling himself did not return a request for comment on Thursday.
Trump is expected to surrender Thursday evening at Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, though he’ll only be there briefly before he is released on a negotiated bond. While some of the defendants in the YSL case are being held in the same building, Young Thug is detained in neighboring Cobb County Jail.