What did Zach Bryan say about Trump? Singer’s politics explored as he surprises fans with anti-ICE song

Zach Bryan just called out the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in a latest song teaser he dropped on Instagram. The Grammy winner posted a portion of his unreleased anti-ICE track Bad News. The song starts as follows:

“Didn't wake up dead or in jail /Some out-of-town boys been giving us hell / I got some bad news, I woke up missing you / My friends are all degenerates but they're all I've got /The generational story of dropping the plot”

Bryan drops an expletive to showcase his anger while condemning the police and ICE. The lyrics of Bad News read as follows: 

“I heard the cops came, cocky motherf***ers, ain't they? / And ICE is gonna come bust down your door / To try and build a house no one builds no more, but I got a telephone”

Bad News teaser concludes, as  Bryan sings:

“Kids are all scared and all alone / The bar stopped bumping, the rock stopped rolling / The middlе fingers rising and it won't stop showing / Got some bad news, thе fading of the red, white and blue”

With his recent track, Bryan has criticized the Trump administration's deportation policies. The Oklahoma singer-songwriter has typically refrained from aligning politically with either the Democratic or Republican parties in the past. He has described himself as a “total libertarian” in a 2022 interview with The New York Times. 

Zach Bryan, a Navy veteran, also spoke up last year when Trump was shot during an attempted assassination at a Pennsylvania rally in July. Talking about the then-GOP presidential candidate, the Something in the Orange singer remarked:

“I don't support Trump or Biden but the man got shot in the ear… Head... Whatever you guys gonna call it… and then fist bumped in the air. That is sick, dude!” 

Zach Bryan triggered confusion online after posting a picture with Trump earlier this year 

The American Heartbreak artist has maintained ambiguity around his political beliefs and has avoided outrightly supporting any party. However, Zach Bryan also sparked confusion online after he posted a picture posing with comedian Shane Gillis and President Trump, after they met at the Super Bowl in February. Bryan, who shared the photo via his Instagram Stories, captioned it: 

“the actual smallest man” 

Country Star Zach Bryan Posts, And Then Quickly Deletes, Photo With Donald Trump Captioned “The Actual Smallest Man”

He immediately hit the backpedal and followed up the post with another story saying: “To be clear: I obviously was referring to me being the smallest man in the… pic.twitter.com/lBiuRSHYVL

— OKIE PATRIOT 76 (@okiepatriot_76) February 10, 2025

The singer deleted the story shortly and posted a clarification that read:

“To be clear: I obviously was referring to me being the smallest man in the photo and not the President of the United States or Shane Gillis being remotely small.” 

In the original picture, Trump and Gillis towered over Bryan, who used self-deprecating humor to refer to himself as “the actual smallest man.” The label was also a reference to a diss track Smallest Man that Dave Portnoy and Josh Richards released after the singer had a messy breakup with their BFFs podcast co-host, Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia. 

Bryan didn’t trend on social media in February, but his recent anti-ICE song has got the internet users talking. After numerous accounts, including Pop Crave (@PopCrave), posted about "Bad News," the X users shared polarizing opinions on the track.

“obviously he is in dire need of the attention and approval of the sick demos who hate ICE. no wonder he is releasing garbage,” a user reacted to Pop Crave’s post

“He wants that Swiftie crossover money. Time to bend the knee,” another user asserted. 

“Well, he's wrong about all that.  ICE is doing a great job. Millions more will be shipped back.  Yeahhh!,” one user added. 

“His last songs flopped so he is desperate for attention. New marketing strategy,” another one said. 

Many users also voiced their support for Zach Bryan. A user tweeted: 

“Country fans be like ‘Yeah i love outlaw country, f*** the system’ until someone says ‘f*** the system’”

Another user wrote:

“Proud of the man for taking what is going to be a very unpopular stand with his fans.” 

One user added: 

“man’s really using his music to hit the system where it hurts” 

Another one posted: 

“Hold on Zach I didn’t know you rocked like that. Lemme stream your music” 

While Bad News has triggered divisiveness among social media users, Zach Bryan has refrained from reacting to the reception.