Could this be a savvy public relations move? Alleged country music singer Zach Bryan is facing backlash after he released a portion of his new song “Bad News” that seems to drag ICE agents and deportations. It’s hard to cut through the clutter of artists and music and everyone certainly has now heard of Bryan and knows that he has new music coming out.

I am more of a George Strait kind of girl, but Zach Bryan has won the Top New Artist Award from Billboard Music. He clearly has fans. He drew 112,000 fans to a concert. Bryan released a snippet of his new song “Bad News” and it seemed to mock ICE and the deportations of illegal immigrants. Here is the snippet:

Country-Pop Singer Zach Bryan catches MAJOR backlash after releasing his newest song titled “Bad News”

The Anti-American song is going viral online, where proud Americans who love this country are voicing their disgust pic.twitter.com/BbQmt1AbkC

— Ole Murica (@OleMurica) October 7, 2025

Something about that song reminds me of Steve Earle’s “Copperhead Road” which I shouldn’t like but I love it. Besides, it mentions my beloved Knoxville.

Zach Bryan faced immediate backlash from some on the Right. The song was lauded by those on the Left. From USA Today:

On Oct. 6 Bryan treated his followers to a one-minute clip of “Bad News,” in which he could be heard singing: “ICE is gonna come, bust down your door / Try to build a house no one builds no more / But I’ve got a telephone / Kids are all scared and all alone.”

“The bar stopped bumping / The rock stopped rolling / The middle fingers rising and it won’t stop showing,” he later sings. “I’ve got some bad news / The fading of the red, white and blue.”

Listeners were quick to correlate the lyrics with President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts, which have become a hallmark of his second term and sparked outrage as officials use increasingly violent tactics to remove people living in the country unlawfully.

In addition, the Trump administration has vowed to flood cities run by Democrats with federal agents as part of the nationwide crackdown. Federal officials have targeted so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

Bryan, a veteran of the U.S. Navy, added in his statement that the song was intended to highlight America’s division, not add to it.

“I served this country,” he wrote. “I love this country and the song itself is about all of us coming out of this divided space.”

The reaction, he said, has made him “not only embarrassed but kind of scared.”

“Left wing or right wing, we’re all one bird and American. To be clear, I’m on neither of these radical sides. To all those disappointed in me on either side of whatever you believe in, just know I’m trying my best too and we all say things that are misconstrued sometimes,” he continued.

First, we may be one bird, but if one wing is shooting the other wing, you wont fly. Second, being a military veteran doesn’t get you a free pass.

John Rich, of Big & Rich, compared Bryan to the Dixie Chicks.

Nashville is full of guys like this https://t.co/G1os6xfL3S

— John Rich (@johnrich) October 6, 2025

The “Red, White and Blue is fading”? My Aunt Fanny. Anyone who watched the Charlie Kirk service and the young people begging for more from Turning Point USA might and should beg to differ.

Zach Bryan has had a lot of non-music related issues. He was charged with Obstruction in Oklahoma and is in social media fights with everyone. He’s only 29 and so he is still wet behind the ears.

This has a lot of earmarks of a public relations stunt. Yes, he doesn’t like police or MAGA but it still smells like P.R..

Featured Image: Katrina Paisano/Wikimedia Commons.org/cropped/Creative Commons