Politics
Country Star Releases New Song Ripping ‘RINO’ Senator
Country music star John Rich is turning up the heat on Capitol Hill — not with a policy speech, but with a guitar-backed barb aimed directly at Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC). The outspoken artist, known for mixing politics and patriotism into his music, released a short but pointed tune Friday morning that skewers the North Carolina Republican over his recent break with President Donald Trump.
“I hope you like my little country ditty about Thom Tillis,” Rich wrote on X, formerly Twitter, as he shared a 26-second clip that’s already racked up over 275,000 views.
In the video, Rich strums his guitar and sings: “Thom, Thom, Thom, you were wrong, wrong, wrong when you went and sold North Carolina out. And Thom, Thom, Thom, you’re gonna be gone, gone, gone when that 26th election rolls around.
Thanks for nothing, Thom! Go get them, Judge Janine!”
Rich is best known as one half of the duo Big & Rich and a former member of the band Lonestar. He’s also a conservative political commentator and entrepreneur, known for founding the Redneck Riviera brand and winning The Celebrity Apprentice in 2011.
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The jab comes just days after Tillis publicly opposed Trump’s nomination of conservative activist Ed Martin to serve as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia — a move that enraged many in the MAGA wing of the GOP. Tillis, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, was one of the few Republicans to break ranks over the pick, citing Martin’s past legal defense of January 6 rioters and his dismissal of prosecutors handling Capitol riot cases during his interim tenure.
“If Mr. Martin were being put forth as a U.S. attorney for any district except the district where Jan. 6 happened… I’d probably support him,” Tillis said at the time.
His stance ultimately derailed Martin’s nomination, which required near-unanimous Republican support to advance. The move was seen by Trump loyalists as a betrayal.
“I was disappointed. A lot of people were disappointed, but that’s the way it works sometimes,” Trump explained. “He wasn’t rejected, but we felt it would be very, it would be hard. And we have somebody else that we’ll be announcing over the next two days who’s going to be great.”
Not long after the Martin nomination was withdrawn, Trump announced a new pick: Judge Jeanine Pirro. The Fox News firebrand will now serve as interim U.S. Attorney for D.C.
Pirro, who previously served as a county judge and district attorney in New York, has long been a vocal Trump ally and was one of the first television personalities to publicly defend his administration’s actions.
“I am pleased to announce that Judge Jeanine Pirro will be appointed interim United States Attorney for the District of Columbia,” Trump wrote Thursday evening. “Jeanine was Assistant District Attorney for Westchester County, New York, and then went on to serve as County Judge, and District Attorney, where she was the first woman ever to be elected to those positions. During her time in office, Jeanine was a powerful crusader for victims of crime.”
