Country star Zach Bryan has angered MAGA supporters with a teaser for his new song.
Over the weekend, the 29-year-old “Pink Skies” singer shared an early recording of a portion of new music on Instagram.
The brief snippet includes lyrics that appear critical of police officers and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
“Didn’t wake up, dead or in jail / Some out of town boys been given a cell / I’ve got some bad news, woke up missing you / My friends are all degenerates but they’re all I got,” Bryan sings.
“The generational story of dropping the plot / I heard the cops came, cocky motherf***ers 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,” he continues.
“The Boss stopped bumping, the rock stopped rolling / The middle fingers rising and it won’t stop showing / Got some bad news / The fading of the red, white and blue.”
The Grammy-winning artist’s song has struck a nerve with conservatives, who are outraged by his condemnation of ICE agents deployed under the Trump administration to deport undocumented immigrants.
“No name Country artist Zach Bryan, slams ICE for deporting criminal illegal immigrants. It’s a stretch calling him an ‘artist’ because he has no talent!” one X user angrily said.
A second amplified the message, adding: “Looks like someone doesn’t want a career in country music, anymore. Y’all know what to do.”
“Is what he spews actually country music anyway? He was terrible to begin with,” a third claimed.
Others, meanwhile, have commented directly on Bryan’s earlier Instagram posts to express their fury.
“Why TF would you alienate half of your audience???? Badddddd move on your end,” one said, while a second declared: “Huge fan here, not so much anymore.”
“I’m so confused is Zac Pro America or Pro Open border…. We all know he has an issue with cocky cops, but ICE agents are protecting this country and putting their lives on the line so our families are not mourning,” a third argued.
Another wrote: “As a vet the song bothers me to my core.”
Some, however, have applauded and thanked Bryan for “using [his] voice and being on the right side of history.”
“Thank you Zach Bryan for speaking up,” one person wrote on X.
“Im not a fan of Zach Bryan by any means but calling out ICE in a song as one of the biggest modern country artists is actually huge,” someone else wrote.
The Independent has contacted Bryan’s representative for comment.
Bryan is best known for his 2023 song “I Remember Everything,” featuring fellow country star Kacey Musgraves. The track appears on his fourth studio album, eponymously called Zach Bryan, released in 2023.
He has largely refrained from wading into politics, previously describing himself as libertarian. However, in 2023, he voiced his support of the transgender community amid the backlash Bud Light faced for its partnership with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
“I just think insulting transgender people is completely wrong because we live in a country where we can all just be who we want to be. It’s a great day to be alive, I thought,” Bryan wrote on X at the time.
That same year, he was arrested in Oklahoma on charges of obstruction of investigation after interfering with a traffic stop involving his security guard. In dashcam footage of the arrest, he was shown getting heated with the highway patrol officer. He later gave fans further insight into his arrest on X.
“Today I had an incident with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol,” Bryan wrote. “Emotions got the best of me and I was out of line in the things I said.”
He took full responsibility for provoking the arrest, saying he was “an idiot” and “should’ve been smarter” about his actions.
