Country star says his fellow musicians should take notes after Bad Bunny
Country singer-songwriter Charley Crockett believes his peers in the music industry should “take notes” from Bad Bunny instead of continuing to support an “oppressor” like President Donald Trump.
Crockett criticized Trump on Monday in a fiery Instagram post recalling his experience at the Grammy Awards earlier this month and praising Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show, which has attracted considerable reaction of the conservatives.
“They keep saying I’m a cowboy in costume, but they love a president in costume,” he wrote. “When I was at the Grammys the other night I saw a guy get up and talk about Jesus, and then I saw Bad Bunny get up there and talk like Jesus.”
“The country music establishment should take note of a Puerto Rican American who has not forgotten his heritage and has brought the traditional music of his culture to the forefront, showing the world something new with it,” Crockett added.
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Crockett, a two-time Grammy nominee, was referring to fellow musician Jelly Roll, who appeared religious during his Grammy acceptance speech but dodged questions about politics in later interviews.
Most of Crockett’s criticism, however, was reserved for Trump, whom he called a “draft evader” and a “con artist who bankrupted six casinos” who has only managed to “file lawsuits and portray a successful businessman as a reality TV actor.”
As for tech billionaire Elon Musk, who recently reconciled with the president after a very public fight, he added: “Let’s deport his ass and send [PayPal and Palantir co-founder] Peter Thiel returns to him because they both openly believe in a post-democratic society where men of their class are above the law.”
Elsewhere in the post, Crockett said he has “a problem with a 34-time convicted felon running this country when I lost the right to vote or own a gun for years because of marijuana… As a great man once said, it’s welfare for the rich and rugged individualism for the poor.”
“If you can sleep at night licking their boots, that’s between you and yours, but that kind of thinking is not freedom. It’s mental slavery,” he continued. “We were not given all the rights we have as a people. We had to fight and take advantage of them. Judge a man by how he treats the poor and those he considers can’t do anything for him.”
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A Texas native, Crockett has released a total of 15 studio albums throughout his career. Their most recent release was 2025’s “Dollar a Day,” which received a Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Country Album.
His comments come as Trump and other conservatives (many of whom initially vowed not to attend this year’s halftime show) have taken aim at Bad Bunny, an outspoken critic of the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigrants.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Crockett’s post had received glowing praise from many of his followers, including fellow musicians Sam Williams, grandson of country legend Hank Williams, and Margo Price.
“Thank you. We all need to hear this,” Williams wrote in the comments, while Price added, “I love hearing it, bro.”