Virginia-based songwriter Oliver Anthony — whose hit single “Rich Men North Of Richmond” has become one of the top songs in the nation — pushed back on claims from the “corporate news” that he supports President Biden.
On Friday, Anthony uploaded a video to YouTube where he shared his thoughts on his hit song’s inclusion at the GOP presidential debate in Milwaukee earlier this week. “It was funny seeing my song at that presidential debate. Because I wrote that song about those people, you know, so for them to have to sit there and listen to that, that cracks me up. It was funny kind of seeing the response to it,” Anthony said.
He then claimed that his song was not about Joe Biden, which led outlets such as the New York Times, Washington Post and several others to interpret his statement as an endorsement of the president. That song has nothing to do with Joe Biden. You know, it’s a lot bigger than Joe Biden. That song’s written about the people on that stage and a lot more too, not just them, but definitely them,” he said.
Anthony’s statement soon ignited debates over his political views, with both conservatives and leftists interpreting his statement in different ways. He then took to Facebook in a follow-up post to plainly state that he does not support Joe Biden.
“Corporate news (big surprise) is now trying to twist me into being a Biden supporter,” Anthony wrote. He then stated that he was speaking in reference to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ answer on why the song was resonating with Americans, in which he said that the majority of the nation’s problem are a result of Biden’s policies.
“Biden is a big part of the issue, bit it runs much deeper,” Anthony said. “‘Rich Men North of Richmond’ is about corporate owned DC politicians on both sides. Though Biden’s most certainly a problem, the lyrics aren’t exclusively knocking Biden, it’s bigger and broader than that. It’s knocking the system collectively. Including the corporate owned conservative politicians that were on stage that night.”
Oliver Anthony clarified his politics again pic.twitter.com/rTetEQ98w4
— Cassandra MacDonald (@CassandraRules) August 26, 2023
