Overview

• The Grammy-winning country artist posted a short Instagram clip with lyrics referencing ICE and profanity toward police, captioned “the fading of red, white, and blue.”
• Bryan wrote that he is “on neither of these radical sides,” describing the reaction as a misreading of a song he says expresses love for the country and its people.
• An assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin, criticized him on X, and the department shared a video montage set to his hit “Revival.”
• Bryan said seeing the controversy left him “embarrassed” and “kind of scared,” adding that the snippet was being used as a weapon online.
• He has not released the full song and noted recent intense scrutiny, a dynamic that follows earlier public moments that drew attention across political audiences.