Ron DeSantis moves on from Jason Aldean, channels Oliver Anthony

Florida’s Governor is embracing the sub-genre of Grievance Country as his Presidential campaign continues.

During a Never Back Down rally in Fort Walton Beach, Ron DeSantis quoted the twangy troubadour of the moment, Oliver Anthony, in one of the few new lines in a speech that showcased the greatest hits to a home state crowd.

“We are not going to let a bunch of rich men north of Richmond spend us into oblivion any longer. We’re going to hold them accountable,” DeSantis said, spotlighting spending in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Weeks ago, meanwhile, the Governor rode the boomlet of enthusiasm for another country hit: Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town.”

“We may have to use that the next time we do a public event, you know, maybe that will be my intro song just to make sure that we continue leaning in,” DeSantis said in July on Fox News.

“Try That In A Small Town” was removed from CMT’s playlist, which led to the song’s surge of the charts.. Variety notes the controversy was in part because Aldean filmed the video outside a Tennessee courthouse infamous for a lynching a century ago. The singer since has denied his song is “pro-lynching.”

The Watters interview was the second time the Governor was on Fox News talking about Aldean and his tune. He said on “Fox and Friends” the controversy proved America is “off its rocker” due to “cancel culture.”

“We need to restore sanity to this country. I mean, what is going on that that would be something that would be censored? I mean, give me a break,” DeSantis said Thursday.

“We’re off the rocker here in the United States with a lot of this stuff; with cancel culture, with big tech censorship, with a lot of stuff that the federal government is doing in policing so-called misinformation,” he added. “We need to get back on kilter and start having a free society again and embracing truth. So I think it’s part and parcel of a lot of the nonsense we’ve seen over the last many years nonetheless.”

Ultimately, DeSantis did not use the Aldean song as his walk-up music. Will Oliver Anthony’s anthem be different?