Jelly Roll Responds to Criticism After Meeting with Donald Trump

Jelly Roll responds to criticism for meeting with President-elect Donald Trump.

While appearing on his wife Bunnie Xo’s podcast Stupid blonde for the Dec. 16 episode, the “Halfway to Hell” singer talked about meeting Trump, 78, during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden in New York on Nov. 16.

“Man, there’s no way I’m not going to meet the president-elect. I don’t give a damn,” Jelly, 40, said, noting he’d be excited to meet any president.

“If I got an invitation to meet with Joe Biden, I would stop at any time [met] him,” the singer added. “That’s an active president. I don’t care what he thinks or what I think about politics.”

Donald Trump and Jelly Roll 2024.

Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

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“I don’t hide behind the word I’m not political. I’m not political! People who actually know me know I’m also one of the old school guys,” he continued. “I like to talk about things I’m interested in. Plus, I like to know about it. I don’t know enough about politics to act like I know anything that’s going on or what anybody stands for politically.”

The “Son of a Sinner” singer added that he didn’t grow up in a “voting culture” at home where his parents “pushed” him to vote. “They still stood for the respect of the president,” he said, adding that he thought the position was “the hardest job in the world.”

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“Meeting President Trump was cool. Ultimately, I don’t really care [about] any response I get on that,” Jelly concluded. “It’s true: it was really cool to meet the president.”

Bunnie (44) agreed. “Anyone who gets a chance to meet the president, the vice president… anything like that. It’s a fucking honor.”

Jelly Roll 2024.

Sam Hodde/Getty

Jelly Roll and family photos of wife Bunnie XO

Jelly also talked about how “honored” he was to have time with senators in January to discuss his testimony on the fentanyl crisis. “And I didn’t know what side any of them were on… I’m trying to put things together here, man. I’ll work with any administration in the game, for the rest of my life. Because my cause will always be what it is.”

The singer testified before Congress demanding the adoption of a law that would suppress the supply and distribution of drugs throughout the country.

Jelly spent 10 years in and out of prison on charges ranging from aggravated robbery to possession with intent to sell cocaine. On the November cover of PEOPLE, the Grammy-nominated star said he’s come to terms with his past but is still healing.

“I’m finishing third on my corrections list and I think I’ll feel a little better when I get there. I was hitting some stone walls with people who wouldn’t forgive me, and I said, ‘God, maybe this has something to do with the fact [that] I haven’t even forgiven myself,” he said then. “Over 10, 12, 15 years of living an extremely crazy, narcissistic, selfish lifestyle, I turn it into a two-second sentence in an interview. It is true that there was a lot of pain. I hurt a lot of people. Despite the fact that I have changed a lot, they still watch and are angry that I am successful. i understand that. But I’m doing better letting go of the past and realizing that I don’t owe that part of me anything.”

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Source: HIS Education