Jelly Roll has remained universally beloved since releasing his 2023 country music debut, Whitsitt Chapel. However, the “Son of a Sinner” hitmaker is currently dealing with blowback after video footage surfaced of him meeting with President-elect Donald Trump. Jelly (born Jason DeFord) decided to clear the air during a recent appearance on his wife’s podcast.
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Jelly Roll Shook Hands With Trump at a UFC Event
Recently, video footage of Jelly Roll visiting with Donald Trump during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden in New York on Nov. 16 began circulating on social media. The clip shows the “Halfway to Hell” shaking hands and laughing with Trump, 78, as Elon Musk and Kid Rock look on.
🚨BREAKING: LEGENDARY SINGER JELLY ROLL JUST GREETED PRESIDENT TRUMP WITH A MASSIVE SMILE AT UFC 309!
— Bo Loudon (@BoLoudon) November 17, 2024
He also greeted Elon Musk, Kid Rock, and Don Jr.
This is HUGE!🔥 pic.twitter.com/6TEIBEc8ZG
Jelly: Meeting Trump “Was Really Cool”
These days, there are few public figures more polarizing than the President-elect. So naturally, many people had something to say about seeing Jelly Roll rub shoulders with him. But during a Dec. 16 appearance on wife Bunnie Xo’s Dumb Blonde podcast, the “Halfway to Hell” singer clarified that “there’s not a chance in hell” he would pass up an opportunity to meet a future president.
“If I would have got a call to meet Joe Biden at any point, I would have stopped what I was doing to go meet him,” Jelly said. “That’s the active president. I wouldn’t have cared what people thought, even what I think about his policies.”
While the Grammy nominee doesn’t consider himself political, he does identify as “one of the old-school dudes.”
“I like to talk about things I’m passionate about. With that, I like to know about them,” he told Bunnie. “I don’t know enough about politics to act like I know anything that’s going on, what anybody’s standing for policy-wise. I genuinely don’t know.”
Jelly Roll said that his parents didn’t emphasize voting while he was growing up. However, they did stress the importance of respecting the president regardless of political affiliation.
“Meeting President Trump was cool,” Jelly said. “Ultimately, I don’t really care [about] any blowback I get about it. The truth is: It was really cool to meet the president.”
Featured image by Daniel DeSlover/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock
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