Conservative pop culture is having a moment

The first GOP debate of the 2024 presidential primary season began on Fox News this week with an unusual prompt: a clip of a low-budget country song from an artist who had no public name recognition as of three weeks ago.

“’Cause your dollar ain’t shit and it’s taxed to no end,” singer Oliver Anthony proclaims with his thick red beard and a Southern drawl. “These rich men north of Richmond, lord knows they all just wanna have total control.”

Seemingly out of nowhere, the blue-collar track has exploded in popularity and shot to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Anthony made history by becoming the first singer-songwriter to top the chart without ever previously releasing a song. The hit has more than 37 million views in roughly two weeks on YouTube and is its No. 1 trending music video. “Hollywood” has long been synonymous with progressive media. Republicans have scoffed at the powerful microphone that they believe liberal elites hold in television, film and music. And as the country becomes increasingly polarized, conservatives are coalescing to amplify their own voices.

In an interview with The Hill, Montclair State University associate professor Joel Penney, the author of “Pop Culture, Politics, and the News: Entertainment Journalism in the Polarized Media Landscape,” credited the rise in conservative entertainment to a newfound appreciation for it. The slightly older conservative media world “didn’t think that pop culture was even worthy of attention,” Penney said.

But now, he added, conservatives have realized “the path towards long-term political success [is] to take back the pop culture from the left, which they see as totally dominating the entertainment world.”

“Rich Men North of Richmond” has garnered passionate praise from firebrand right-wing figures including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake. “This is the message that Washington needs to hear because this is how our people actually think and feel,” Greene posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Lake, who is eyeing a 2024 Senate bid, said that “It’s raw, it’s true, & it’s touching the hearts of men & women across this great nation.”

And Anthony isn’t alone in finding success this summer with a conservative audience that typically receives little attention from major artists.

Country star Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town,” also topped the Billboard chart with its right-leaning message.

“Got a gun that my granddad gave me. They say one day they’re gonna round up,” Aldean sings. “Well, that shit might fly in the city, good luck.”

The corresponding music video was heavily criticized for its clips of Black Lives Matter protests set alongside footage of a store robbery, carjacking and images of people setting American flags on fire. The video was shot at the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tenn., where 18-year-old Henry Choate was infamously lynched in 1927.

Country Music Television removed the song from its rotation, but Republicans jumped to defend it.

“Jason Aldean is a fantastic guy who just came out with a great new song. Support Jason all the way. MAGA!!!” former President Trump posted on his Truth Social account.

“When the media attacks you, you’re doing something right. [Aldean] has nothing to apologize for,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) echoed.

And the summer of red-state entertainment has not been confined to music.

Last month, faith-based thriller “Sound of Freedom” caught Hollywood by surprise, grossing more than the latest Indiana Jones and Mission: Impossible films with its tale of a former federal agent rescuing children from sex trafficking.

Critics have slammed the movie for amplifying conspiracy theories surrounding child exploitation. The movie’s star, Jim Caviezel, who also played Jesus in “The Passion of the Christ,” is a prominent QAnon promoter, and the movie’s plot raises the same issue — child sex trafficking — at the heart of the QAnon conspiracy, which falsely claims that elite Democrats are involved in trafficking rings and cannibalism.

Prominent Republicans have praised the film. Trump hosted a private screening in Bedminster, N.J., and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) commented “Wow. Wow. Wow” after seeing it, urging followers to take the time to do the same.

The rise of these conservative pop culture hits is no coincidence. As politics increasingly invade all aspects of society, conservative artists such as Anthony and Aldean may see an opening to expand their fanbase and push back on institutions that the right has historically criticized for favoring Democrats over Republicans.

Penney said the summer’s viral moments have been “useful for the conservative movement because it expressed this kind of populist anger at elites.”

“[Republicans] saw this viral video as almost a political ad, the best political ad they could possibly find for the upcoming election cycle,” he said.

“There’s an authenticity that comes across particularly when he’s singing about peoples’ dissatisfaction with the economy and poor wages. … A lot of people are disenchanted with the way our economy is functioning.”

The success of “Sound of Freedom” and “Rich Men North of Richmond” suggest that Hollywood and the music industry may have overlooked an audience of conservatives eager to listen and watch media that better represents them and their views.

It’s too soon to tell whether these recent hits represent the start of a larger divide in entertainment — or if the summer of 2023 turns out to be a one-hit wonder for conservative pop culture.