“It’s aggravating seeing certain musicians and politicians act like we’re buddies and act like we’re fighting the same struggle here, like that we’re trying to present the same message,” he went on. “I’ve had a lot of people reach out to me, and I’ve tried to be polite to everybody, and I’ve talked to hundreds of people the last two weeks.”
Over the last two weeks, the song trended on social media and provided fodder for a number of Fox News segments. The network spent at least three hours discussing Anthony’s song in the days leading up to the debate, according to Media Matters. Right-wing podcaster Joe Rogan, Fox News host Laura Ingraham and right-wing extremists Matt Walsh and Ben Shapiro have also offered praise.
“The music side is exciting, and all the Billboard, iTunes charts and all that crap ― that’s great,” Anthony said. “But the exciting part’s been the conversations I’ve had with people and the things I’ve learned just in a couple weeks about the human spirit, and about all sorts of other things.”
“For them to have to sit there and listen to that, that cracks me up,” Anthony said. “It was funny kind of seeing the response to it. That song has nothing to do with Joe Biden, you know? It’s a lot bigger than Joe Biden.”
Other lyrics are more vividly reminiscent of right-wing talking points, like where Anthony complains about “the obese milking welfare.” “If you’re 5-foot-3 and you’re 300 pounds / Taxes ought not to pay for your bag of Fudge Rounds,” he sings. He also references the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein while hinting at darker conspiratorial undertones: “I wish politicians would look out for miners / And not just minors on an island somewhere.”
In Friday’s video, Anthony said he has watched a lot of responses to his song on YouTube. Many were positive, he said, but he was bothered by accusations that his song “is an attack against the poor.” He pointed to some of his other song lyrics that more directly criticize wealth disparity, and said his issue is with “the inefficiencies of the government,” not welfare recipients themselves.
This content was originally published here.
