AARON LEWIS Defends His Conservative Views: 'It Blows My Mind That People Are So Brainwashed'

During an appearance on episode 285 of the "Devin Nunes Podcast" on former U.S. president Donald Trump's social media venture Truth Social, STAIND frontman Aaron Lewis — a vocal supporter of the Republican Party — was asked how he became a conservative. The Massachusetts native, who has been spending most of his time in recent years in Nashville, where he has been focusing on a country music solo career, responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I can't say that I was always a conservative. I mean, when you're younger, it's more about… There's an old saying that when you're young, if you're not a liberal, you don't have a heart. And then when you're older, if you're still a liberal, you don't have a brain. Or something to that effect. But what happened was is that I got older and responsibilities came into play and having a family and having a home that I had to take care of. And I think another key thing was I'm gonna be 52 years old. I've been around for the entire metamorphosis of this country. I've seen it all happen. I've watched [smartphones] have done to our society. I've watched what computers have done to our society. I've seen it all happen. And I never even had a MySpace [account]. Truth Social is the first actual official my own page, my own account that I've ever had. So, I guess, sitting back and not being so engulfed in all of the social media phenomenon, I guess I didn't get brainwashed as badly."

He continued: "I don't know. It's so clear to me. I don't understand how so many people can be so brainwashed when it is so crystal clear. It's never been so crystal clear. The veil has never been pulled away to the extent that it is right now. And it blows my mind that people are so brainwashed that they call it… Everything's flip flopped. Truth, lies and propaganda, and the propaganda is hailed as truth. The narrative is hailed as truth, and it's societal insanity. We have a serious mental health issue in this country."

Asked how the music industry has responded to him voicing his political views so publicly, including through the lyrics of his songs, Aaron said: "There was an all-out call for my cancelation when I put out 'Am I The Only One' I'm very blessed in the sense that even though my label president Scott Borchetta does not agree with us at all, he believes in the freedom of speech and the freedom of expression, and he's a president of a record label; that is creativity, that's freedom of expression. And as much as he does not believe in in most of what we think is truth, he still stood behind me and would not answer the call to cancel me and has actually been a very strong supporter of my right to be able to say what I believe. I'm very lucky, and he knows how much I appreciate him."

In the summer of 2021, Lewis's solo single "Am I The Only One" debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country chart. The song takes aim at liberals and touches on American flags burning and statues that have been removed in the country. The track, which Lewis wrote with Ira Dean and  Jeffrey Steele, was released in July 2021 and topped the Hot Country Songs chart on  Billboard.

Lewis sings in the song's chorus: "I'm not the only one, willin' to fight / For my love of the red and white / And the blue, burnin' on the ground / Another statue comin' down in a town near you."  Lewis also criticizes Bruce Springsteen at the end of the track, singing: "Am I the only one who quits singin' along every time they play a  Springsteen song."

Springsteen can best be described as Lewis's political polar opposite, having been a vocal opponent to former U.S. president Donald Trump on many occasions.

When Lewis first performed "Am I The Only One" in June 2021 for a crowd in Virginia, he described himself as a then-"49-year-old father of three" who has been "watching a very small handful of people destroy the country."  Lewis then ripped President Joe Biden and blamed "every racist law that's ever been put into place" on "Democrats."

Aaron will release his new country album, "The Hill", on March 29 via The Valory Music Co.. The lyrics for the LP's opening track, "Let's Go Fishing", find the now-51-year-old Lewis singing about "making America great again", "turning off CNN" and using the "Let's Go, Brandon!" catchphrase, which was coined by American conservatives to criticize President Joe Biden.

According to Fox 26 Houston, the "Let's Go, Brandon!" phrase, which originally stemmed from a NASCAR interview, is a G-rated substitute for "Fuck Joe Biden" chants that were popular during the COVID-19 pandemic. The explicit saying was recited at sporting events across the country in defiance of the president's coronavirus mandates.

After Brandon Brown's victory at the NASCAR Xfinity Series race on October 2, 2021, a crowd unleashed "Fuck Joe Biden" chants during the young racer's TV interview. NBC reporter Kelli Stavast appeared to misunderstand what the fans were shouting, claiming instead they were saying "Let's Go, Brandon!" — unintentionally coining the phrase.

In November 2021, Lewis claimed that he beat COVID-19 by taking ivermectin, a drug with no evidence of being a safe or effective treatment for the novel coronavirus. He said he also used Z-Pak, an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections by inhibiting the growth of bacteria in the body.

Lewis made headlines in September 2021 when he urged his fans to chant "Fuck Joe Biden" during a STAIND concert in Pennsylvania.

In March 2022, Lewis seemingly embraced the popular belief among conspiracy theorists that Russian president Vladimir Putin is attacking Ukraine to destroy the Deep State, a secret part of government they believe is on a mission undermine Trump. Lewis voiced his views on the war in Ukraine before performing "Am I The Only One" during his concert at Vern Riffe Center in Portsmouth, Ohio. He told the crowd: "We have no order. We have no president. Every single day that goes by, we lose standing in the world. Everyone's laughing at us. Everyone is positioning themselves against us. And it's not us — it's the government that we put in power. These are the people that are making us look bad throughout the entire world — the same people that have you convinced that we all need to support Ukraine even though all of their money laundering systems, all of their everything, the way that they get all their kickbacks and they wash everything is all through the Ukraine."

Aaron then repeated the conspiracy theory that Russia's invasion of Ukraine is somehow tied to billionaire philanthropist George Soros and Klaus Schwab, who is the founder of the World Economic Forum (WEF) that holds a yearly economic symposium in Davos, Switzerland.

"You know, as fucked up as it sounds, maybe we should listen to what Vladimir Putin is saying," Lewis said. "Maybe, just maybe, when Klaus Schwab and George Soros and every other dirty fucking earth-destroying motherfucker all jumps on the same bandwagon, maybe, just maybe we should fucking take a good look at that. Why are they trying to protect Ukraine so much? What do they all have to lose?"

Also in March 2022, Lewis told the Los Angeles Times that he doesn't blindly listen to information that is delivered by the mainstream media.

"I'm not uneducated; I'm actually really smart, and I look for myself. I seek other options of information," he said. "I refuse to believe that a huge, gigantic corporation has our best interest in mind."

Asked where he gets his news, Lewis said: "I have news feeds and people that I follow on Telegram. Dan Ball. Andrew Wilkow. Mark Levin. If I'm gonna watch any sort of news source on television, it's Tucker Carlson."

At some of his solo concerts, Lewis has been taking the stage while wearing a black hat with white mesh and white lettering on the front clearly stating "FUJOE," an expletive directed toward Biden.

Photo credit: Jim Wright