Cody Johnson, a country music singer, addressed Americans at the Windy City Smokeout just after the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump on Saturday night. The famous singer described the assassination attempt as “disgusting and gave a powerful warning against division in the country and urged Americans to exercise their “God-given right” to vote instead of acting in “hatred.”
In a video shared by Fox News on X, formerly Twitter, Johnson told the crowd that shortly before he went on stage to perform at Saturday’s concert, a shooter attempted to assassinate the former president.
“Here’s what I’ve got to say about it, and I hope you’ll hear me out. I mean, it’s my microphone; I can say what I want to, right? The fact that any American citizen would think that what they did today would solve a problem in this country is absolutely disgusting,” Johnson said.
The country music star explained that if Americans want to solve problems, they need to vote for who they want to represent them instead of resorting to violence.
“You know why?” Johnson asked the crowd. “Because before most of you were born, an American soldier died for you to have the right to disagree with somebody else in this country.”
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Discussing the freedom Americans have to disagree with one another in the United States, Johnson said he was tired of the hatred and division in society. The singer also said he was tired of people talking about the former president and President Joe Biden.
“Let me tell you something. There’s people in this crowd that agree with Trump. There’s people in this crowd that agree with Biden,” Johnson continued. “Guess what. That is your God-given American right to believe whatever you want. That right was bought with sacrifice.”
NBC 5 Chicago reported that following the country music star’s speech, Johnson led the crowd in a performance of “God Bless America” and urged the crowd to pray for healing in the United States.