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Liberals have vowed to ‘cancel’ country singer Luke Bryan after he brought out Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis during a concert in Jacksonville on Friday – an event held to raise money for Hurricane Ian relief efforts for the embattled state.
The surprise appearance saw the Republican governor showered with cheers as he took the stage – sentiments that were not shared by the woke masses online.
DeDantis, a staunch conservative widely known – and sometimes panned – for his anti-woke policies, threw hats into the crowd as he joined Bryan, asking if onlookers were ‘excited to be in the free state of Florida?’
While the response in person was deafening, on social media, the liberal masses were quick to criticize Bryan for associating with the governor.
Bryan, who twice served as host for the Country Music Awards and will host again this year, had been in Jacksonville as part of his ‘Raised Up Right’ tour after it was postponed multiple times due to damage wrought by the historic storm last month.
The country music superstar was forced to postpone three previously scheduled stops in the Sunshine State due to Ian, rescheduling and switching several venues.
Video from Friday’s show Bryan walking onstage under the bright lines with no music playing at the show’s start, before the pair started talking to the crowd about the deadly storm and the Sunshine’s State recovery efforts.
While well-received by locals, liberals across the country were not as happy – with many seemingly citing DeSantis signing of the so-called ‘Don’t Say Gay Bill’ that barred schools from teaching gender identity and sexual orientation to kids under 10.
Country singer Luke Bryan after he brought out Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis during a concert in Jacksonville on Friday – an event held to raise money for hurricane relief efforts for the state
The surprise appearance saw the Republican governor showered with cheers as he took the stage – sentiments that were not shared by the woke masses online
DeDantis, a staunch conservative widely known – and sometimes panned – for his anti-woke policies, joked and threw hats into the crowd as he joined Bryan, who judges for American Idol
‘Luke Bryan just got crossed off the playlist,’ one user sniped after re-sharing a now-viral clip of the country crooner coming out to the uproarious applause, which the concertgoer who presumably recorded the clip remarked was ‘deafening.’
‘So Luke Bryan admits he hates women, LGBTQ people and immigrants,’ another added in a similar scathing post, referencing the politico’s polarizing policies.
Others made it clear they were swearing off the songster’s music altogether because of the cameo, which seemingly took the internet by storm.
‘I am so dismayed that you had DeSantis on stage with you,’ one such user remarked amid the storm of backlash that followed.
‘He embodies what is wrong with humanity; he pulls stunts that are racist and he is truly an evil man with no soul,’ the poster went on, not citing any instances to support their contentious claims.
‘I can no longer listen to your music in good conscious,’ the user went on to charge, before adding: ‘You are a huge disappointment.’
Another, more curt user, meanwhile, proclaimed: ‘Luke Bryan can f@ck all the way off.’
A likeminded poster similarly remarked: ‘Sad and seriously disappointing. F**k you Luke Bryan.’
Other posts echoed similar criticisms, with nearly all indicating that the users were by and large swearing off the extremely successful singer, who has sat at the judge’s table at American Idol for the past six years.
While well-received by locals, liberals across the country were not as happy – with many seemingly citing DeSantis signing of so-called ‘Don’t Say Gay Bill’ that barred schools from teaching gender identity and sexual orientation to kids under 10
Many indicated that a potential boycott could be on the horizon – despite Bryan, 46, never previously disclosing whether he supports DeSantis’ policies.
All the singer did was say was that he and the governor were working to fundraise on behalf of Florida, after Ian made landfall last month in Southwest Florida and has since left several parts of the state utterly unrecognizable.
Video from the appearance shows the crowd greeting DeSantis, who is up for reelection in November and has hinted at a prospective presidential run in 2024.
‘The state of Florida had to deal with the major hurricane last month, and it’s not easy to deal with. It’s hurt a lot of people,’ DeSantis says in the clip from on stage.
‘Though I can tell you this, show me any other state that can rebuild bridges in three days. I don’t think you can find that.’
Many indicated that a potential boycott could be on the horizon – despite Bryan, 46, never previously disclosing whether he supports DeSantis’ policies
The clip shows DeSantis and Bryan then shaking hands and embracing, in what appeared to be a wholesome and even charitable spot.
The appearance then saw the GOP governor encourage concertgoers to vote, prompting fervent cheers and chants of ‘USA’ from the supportive crowd.
DeSantis would also thank Bryan for his generosity in helping with recovery efforts, noting how the singers have already contributed money to his Florida Disaster Fund, to which the country star said that he planned to give more.
Bryan then revealed that he would donate all proceeds from his rescheduled show in Estero, Florida, to the fund.
Bryan has previously said that all the money earned from the Jacksonville show as well as all other upcoming shows in Florida will be donated to the fund to help the millions of victims of the hurricane.
‘Because of the hurricane, they had to use the venue that I was performing in as a shelter,’ Bryan said of the storm forcing his team to postpone three previously scheduled stops in the Sunshine State.
‘Well, we’ve been going back and forth, we didn’t know if it was too soon to play or not,’ Bryan went on. ‘So, what we’re going to do is give a large portion of the proceeds… to everybody that’s bought tickets.’
‘I’m donating that money to the great state of Florida.’
So far, roughly a month after Ian made landfall, DeSantis and his Florida Disaster Fund have successfully raised more than $50 million for rebuilding efforts.
The federal government, meanwhile, has also heeded DeSantis’ call to help residents of his state, with the US Department of Labor allocating $ 30 million in a National Dislocated Worker Grant for Floridians left without work because of the storm.
Officials are still assessing the damage wrought by the storm, which made landfall along the Gulf Coast before sweeping across the middle and upper regions of the state.
Fort Myers Beach, a Gulf Coast town that bore the brunt of the storm, was hit particularly hard, so much so that State Senator Marco Rubio earlier this month declared that the now unrecognizable city ‘no longer exists.’
Homes have been left leveled and ships swept onto land in feet of overflowed floodwater – and at least 81 confirmed dead, many from the small city.
Other notable locales devastated by the storm included Naples and Orlando, which have all since struggled to bounce back in the wake of Ian.
The event saw DeSantis and Bryan shake hands and even embrace, in what appeared to be a wholesome and even charitable spot
DeSantis, however, has been credited with uniting the state’s several stricken counties in the recovery effort, garnering aid from Washington thanks to a combination of persistence and staunch leadership.
‘Thanks for letting me crash the party last night, Luke Bryan!’ DeSantis wrote on social media Saturday following his appearance, ignoring the backlash that has since saturated several platforms online.
DeSantis became the subject of liberal ire back in March when he signed into effect a parental rights bill that bans teachers from giving classroom instruction on ‘sexual orientation’ or ‘gender identity’ in kindergarten through third grade.
The guidance, officially titled The Parental Rights in Education bill, allows teachers who breach its regulations to be sued by parents.
At the time of its signing, DeSantis praised lawmakers’ for helping him pass the bill.
More than 2.6 million Florida homes and businesses were left without electricity amid six foot floodwaters and pelting, 155 mph winds, with most of the homes and businesses in 12 counties without power, and many ripped from their foundation
The scale of destruction has since left the parts of the state unrecognizable -such as this portion of still devastated Fort Myers pictured earlier this month
The impacts of Ian, which made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane but dissipated after passing over the central part of the state and then the Atlantic, has left officials to scrambling to address infrastructure damage and deaths
‘Part of the reason why we fought the fight with parents’ rights in education is because there’s a movement to inject these things like gender ideology in elementary schools, even,’ he said.
‘My view is our schools need to be teaching these kids to read and write and add and subtract and do the things (that are) supposed to be done in school. Injecting these agendas into it is wrong.’
DeSantis went on to add: ‘I think our state, in Florida, we need to be a family-friendly state. We need to be a good state for people to be able to raise a family, get a high-quality education, have a lot of opportunities without having some political agenda shoved down their throats.’
However, the bill was quickly met with backlash, sparking battles with predominantly progressive entities such as Disney – which publicly panned the guidance after being pressured by liberals across the country – and even the president himself.
DeSantis, however, has been credited with uniting the state’s several stricken counties in the recovery effort, garnering aid from Washington thanks to a combination of persistence and staunch leadership
Democrats have condemned the bill since its inception. After DeSantis signed the measure into law, many took to Twitter to voice their concerns over how the legislation will affect LGBTQ youth
The signing of the bill also saw DeSantis become the target of the ire of Hollywood, with comedians Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes telling the Oscars audience shortly after the bill was passed that they could expect not only a great night but also ‘a gay night’ – mockingly repeating the word ‘gay’ during the national broadcast.
President Biden even branded the guidance as ‘hateful’ earlier this year.
At the time, DeSantis hit back at the critics, saying: ‘They don’t want to admit that they support a lot of the things that we’re providing protections against.’
The politician went on to accuse the left and liberal elite of ‘sexualizing’ school-aged kids to serve a political agenda.
‘For example, they support sexualizing kids in kindergarten,’ DeSantis said of the scrutiny the bill was facing as it pushed its way through Congress.
‘They support injecting woke gender ideology into second-grade classrooms,’ he went on, adding, ‘what they’re doing with these slogans and these narratives is they are trying to camouflage their true intentions.’
Other similar woke offensives, like seeking to ban schools from forcing students to attend drag shows in his state, have seen the governor become increasingly chastised by progressive detractors who for the most part have been unaffected by the DeSantis’ policies, with the bulk of them not living in the Sunshine State.
DeSantis has subsequently surfaced as one of the leading choices for the Republican Party for the next White House run – much to the chagrin of his top competitor, former President Donald Trump.
Earlier this week, Trump’s camp announced plans for an election week event in Miami for Sen. Rubio, noticeably not including DeSantis in those plans.
A Trump spokesperson has since said that the Florida governor is not attending – leading to rumors of tensions between the two camps.
Trump is the only person to outperform the governor in the 2024 poll and has also demonstrated a desire for a third presidential run.
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