Jason Aldean dedicated his controversial song, “Try That in a Small Town,” to the former president Donald Trump during a concert in Nashville.

The song and particularly its video have been accused or bearing racist overtones

“President Trump’s a friend of mine, so I want to send this next song out to him. We all know what’s going to happen come November, so it’s all good,” Aldean told the crowd. “Just goes to show you there’s a lot of (expletive) in the world, and that’s kind of what this song right here was about, so this one goes out to the pres.”

In July, Aldean released “Try That in a Small Town,” which had been accused of featuring lyrics that were pro-gun and pro-violence, but, per Variety, the music video generated more outrage for being filmed in front of a courthouse in Colombia, Tenn., where a Black man was lynched in the 1920s. 

“Honestly, if you’re in the south, you could probably go to any smalltown courthouse, and be hard-pressed to find one that hasn’t had a racial issue over the years at some point. That’s a fact,” he told “CBS Mornings last October.

He also defended his video by saying, “There was people of all color doing stuff in the video. That’s what I don’t understand. You know, there was white people in there. There was Black people. I mean, this video did not shine light on one specific group and say, that’s the problem. So anybody that saw that in the video, then you weren’t looking hard enough in the video is all I can tell you.”

Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.