Sharing his honest thoughts. Nate Smith has a message for country artists that is putting him in a little bit of hot water with his fans and followers. Now that Smith has shared his political views, he’s not holding back, but this one is stirring up some controversy. But before we get into that, let’s dive into some backstory for context. Last month, many artists paid tribute to conservative media personality Charlie Kirk after he was horrifically assassinated last Wednesday during an event at Utah Valley University. While Nate Smith was opening up for Jason Aldean in Chicago over the weekend, somebody handed the “Wasted On You” singer a “Make America Great Again” hat from the crowd, which the singer quickly put on while singing one of his biggest hits. The video of the moment quickly went viral, not only because Nate has never really revealed his politics, but also because it’s not every day you see an artist (especially a newer artist and an opening act) reveal their political stance mid-show. He’s also from California, a state that leans pretty blue. That being said, if there’s a safe space to admit that you’re a Trump supporter, it’s probably a Jason Aldean show. @graceolsen50 crowd went insane @Nate Smith Country #fyp #foryou #maga #jasonaldean ♬ original sound – Grace Olsen After the viral moment, Nate took to his Instagram to share a photo of himself on stage with the MAGA hat, while paying tribute to Charlie Kirk: “This week was one none of us will ever forget. Continue to join me in prayer for the Kirk family. America truly is grieving. However, what I witnessed over the last few days I’ve seen a strength in America that moves me to tears. I’ve seen a boldness and a courage, and an unapologetic approach to standing firm on the side of truth. America is alive and well friends. Let’s continue to make it great again.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nate Smith (@natesmith) And in a video posted to his social media, Nate called the moment one of the proudest of his career, admitting that it felt good to finally find the courage to reveal his beliefs to his fans: “Truthfully, that was the proudest moment of my entire career so far. Not even a question, because being on stage in Chicago, getting handed that hat, being able to put it on, being able to live fully authentic to who I am in front of everybody just felt right. And it felt good and it felt free. And I’ll tell you what, I’ve never felt more spirit of America, spirit of patriotism in my entire life than I did on that stage. It was, it was unbelievable. And I just want to say thank you for that. I also want to say, I don’t know why it’s been so scary to just be who you are at all times. Like why is it so scary to be like, ‘Yep, I voted for Trump. Yep. I’m a conservative.’ Cool… Why is that? Why is that such a hard thing to say on a public forum? It’s not.” Nate says that recent events changed his perspective on things and that he realized he’s gained new fans now that he’s found the courage to speak out for what he believes: “I think everything that happened in the world recently, like just changed my entire perspective where I’m like, I just don’t even care anymore. I’m just going to live my full authentic self. And I found new fans, I’m so thankful for you guys. Thank you for coming on. Welcome, welcome aboard. I’m happy to have you here. This is amazing. And I think we got a lot in common. It’s awesome.” And he also expressed his optimism that better days are ahead for America: “I just wanted to say thank you. I really believe that America is gonna come into an incredible moment. Incredible moment where like faith is gonna just be the big thing. People are gonna come to Jesus in droves. People are gonna start figuring out all this crazy stuff. So anyways, thank you. I love you guys.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nate Smith (@natesmith) Whether you agree with his politics or not, it’s cool to see Nate Smith feel like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders for being authentic with his fans. He might lose some fans, sure, but at the end of the day, what is an artist if they’re not authentic to who they are? And that’s the beauty of America: we get to believe in different things, we get to speak freely, and if knowing someone’s political alignment is very important to them, now his fans know, and the true ones will stay around. Message To “Anti-American” Country Artists However, Smith is now upsetting some fans and followers after a recent video he shared on social media. While driving in his car, Smith pulled out his camera and shared a short but very clear statement to his country music colleagues that might have different viewpoints than his. “I’m going to say this one time and one time only. If you are in country music, you’re a country music artist, and you are anti-American, you hate America, you don’t share the values of Americans, we don’t want you here. We don’t want you in our genre. We want you out. Don’t let the door hit you in the a**.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nate Smith (@natesmith) When Smith posted this, the country music world and beyond chimed in on Zach Bryan’s new political song, “Bad News,” which criticized ICE’s ongoing immigration raids and bemoaned the “fading of the red, white, and blue.” The song starts pretty typical for a Zach Bryan song; however, once it reaches its second verse, it dives into the political side of things. Right off the bat, Bryan took aim at the ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). And towards the end of the verse, the country star reveals that the “Bad News” he’s singing about is the “fading of the red, white and blue.” So this message from Smith feels very pointed at Bryan. Once receiving a lot of backlash, Zach Bryan tried to explain himself and his song “Bad News” a bit further, saying that the track actually celebrates how much he loves the United States of America, and that when fans hear the rest of the song, they’ll understand: “I wrote this song months ago. I posted this song three months ago as a snippet. This shows you how divisive a narrative can be when shoved down our throats through social media. This song is about how much I love this country and everyone in it more than anything. When you hear the rest of the song, you will understand the full context that hits on both sides of the aisle. Everyone using this now as a weapon is only proving how devastatingly divided we all are. We need to find our way back.” The “Pink Skies” singer went on to mention that he served in the U.S. Navy for eight years, and clarified that he wasn’t trying to set himself up on a pedestal with this teaser. Instead, he’s hoping that when the full version of “Bad News is released (he makes it seem as though he’ll still put the song out), it’ll be a unifying song rather than one that divides… like people are painting it out to be: “I served this country, I love this country and the song itself is about all of us coming out of this divided space. I wasn’t speaking as a politician or some greater-than-thou a******. Just a 29-year-old man who is just as confused as everyone else. To see how much s*** is stirred up make me 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 these disappointed in me on either side of whatever you believe in, just know I’m trying my best too, and we can all say things that are misconstrued sometimes. Everyone have a great day and I love each and every one of ya!” He continued: “The last few months of my life, I’ve been scrutinized by more people than I ever thought possible. I feel like I’ve tried my hardest in so many ways and it’s so hard to see where my bearings even are anymore. Been falling off a cliff while trying to grow wings at the same time. I am SO proud to have served in a country where we can all speak freely and converse amongst each other without getting doxxed, or accosted on the internet, or worse; the violence and heartbreak we’ve faced in the last few months. God speed ol’ sons I’m out.” Whether you like Zach Bryan’s song or not, many country fans are upset with Nate Smith for speaking on behalf of the entire genre of country music. Many country music fans get annoyed with Maren Morris (who left the genre) acting like the self-proclaimed mouthpiece of country music all the time, apologizing on its behalf, and this move feels pretty similar. And while it’s pretty safe to say that people who actually “hate America” don’t deserve a lot of attention, we’ve always preached that the problems with political differences arise when fans, artists, peers, and more bully or silence those who don’t share their opinions. Or as Charlie Kirk said, stopped talking about them with each other, stop discussing these differences. So while Zach Bryan might be pointing out that he’s not agreeing with everything going on in our nation (or the world) right now, I don’t think calling a guy who served our nation for 8 years “anti-American,” or insinuating that he may hate America, was the right move for Nate Smith. Maybe it wasn’t targeted at Zach Bryan at all… I don’t know. Country music is full of differing views, different backgrounds, different beliefs… and even if we agree with everything Nate said on a personal level, I don’t think anyone gets to speak on behalf of the genre… even the King, George Strait. There’s certainly some hyper left wing folks in country music, but I don’t think there’s any memebers of ANTIFA… And at the end of the day, Nate looks like he’s living it out. One of his most recent posts is him showing love to former Florida Georgia Line member, Tyer Hubbard, a staunch liberal who performed at Biden’s inauguration. Tyler confessed to taking issue with former band member, Brian Kelley’s support of Trump… it certainly seems like it’s part of the reason they broke up. Nate Smith and him seemingly don’t have much in common from a political level, but are releasing a song together. So yeah, if you hate America, you’re certainly free to leave, don’t let the door hit ya, as Nate said. But at the same time, we’re also free to want better for it, and it’s gonna take reaching across the aisle to do it. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nate Smith (@natesmith) The post “We Don’t Want You In Our Genre” – Nate Smith Has Message For “Anti-American” Country Artists first appeared on Whiskey Riff.