Jason Aldean's "Try That in a Small Town" is back for another round of controversy.
The country singer — whose May 2023 release was met with immediate backlash due to claims of racism and the alleged promotion of violence — dedicated the song to Donald Trump after the former president survived an assassination attempt during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday, July 13.
Aldean, who was performing that night in Nashville, introduced the song by telling the audience: "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," the country singer continued, seemingly implying that Trump will beat President Joe Biden in the upcoming presidential election.
"Just goes to show you there's a lot of bulls*** in the world, and that's kind of what this song right here was about, so this one goes out to the Pres," he declared. (Hours earlier, Trump had been shot in the ear while speaking at the Pennsylvania rally. While Secret Service shielded him from the shooter, who was quickly killed, one rally attendee died while two others remain severely injured.)
"Well, try that in a small town / See how far ya make it down the road / Around here, we take care of our own," Aldean sings on the chorus of the song. "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."
Despite Aldean's attempt to honor Trump, it didn't take the internet long to find the irony in his dedication — with dozens of social media users pointing out how someone did, in fact, "Try That in a Small Town." (Butler has a population of about 13,000.)
"I mean, they certainly did try that in a small town so this is weird," one person wrote via X (formerly known as Twitter.)
"Wasn't it in a small town? The literally tried it," pointed out another.
"The fact that 'they' did try that in small town is lost on Mr. Aldean...," commented a third person.
Every other comment was the same.
"I thought they did try that... in a small town. No?" another noted.
"Well. It kinda was a small town," someone else quipped.
"A republican did, in a small town," another X user remarked, referring to the shooter's alleged political party. "I don't get it."
Aldean, for his part, is no stranger to gun violence. He was performing on stage at Las Vegas' Route 91 Harvest Festival in 2017 when a gunman shot and killed 59 attendees and wounded more than 400.
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