All things considered, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has quite a bit on her plate. After all, the South Dakota Republican leads a Cabinet agency that includes everything from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to the Secret Service.
Noem nevertheless found some time to condemn country music star Zach Bryan for writing a song warning that ICE “is going to come bust down your door.” The New York Times reported:
Noem had called Bryan’s song ‘completely disrespectful,’ and in pointed remarks aimed at him said she was ‘very happy that I never once gave you a single penny to enrich your lifestyle.’ … Asked on Tuesday by the right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson what she thought of Bryan’s lyrics, Noem replied that the song disrespected not only law enforcement officials but also ‘every single individual that has ever stood up and fought for our freedoms.’ The song, Noem said, ‘attacks individuals who are just trying to make our streets safe.’
“Zach, I didn’t listen to your music,” the DHS secretary added. “I’m happy about that today.”
The White House added to the offensive, issuing a statement accusing the musician of wanting to “Open The Gates to criminal illegal aliens,” referring to a different song.
For his part, Bryan, a Navy veteran, said that his lyrics to the song, which has not yet been released in its entirety, had been “misconstrued.”
Presumably, the controversy (such as it is) will soon fade, but the story caught my attention for a straightforward reason: When the federal government, including the White House, starts leaning on artists over song lyrics, there’s a problem.
Indeed, the scope of the problem is increasingly unsettling. Team Trump wants comedians like Jimmy Kimmel to tell jokes more in line with the White House’s wishes. Team Trump wants the NFL to schedule Super Bowl halftime entertainment more in line with the White House’s wishes. Team Trump wants sports leagues in general to choose team names more in line with the White House’s wishes. Team Trump wants talk shows like “The View” to host conversations more in line with the White House’s wishes. Team Trump wants cartoons like “South Park” and sketch-comedy shows like “Saturday Night Live” to entertain in ways more in line with the White House’s wishes. Team Trump wants cultural institutions such as the Kennedy Center to host productions more in line with the White House’s wishes. And Team Trump wants musicians to write lyrics more in line with the White House’s wishes. In countries confronted with authoritarian movements, there’s always a push among those in positions of political power to steer the culture. It’s hard not to notice the degree to which it’s currently happening in the United States, too.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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