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Country music star Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason Bradley DeFord, recently opened up about his experience meeting President-elect Donald Trump at the UFC 309 event held at Madison Square Garden last month.

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The interaction sparked significant discussion on social media, fueled by body language analysis and the star-studded nature of the event.

The UFC event, held 11 days after the election, featured appearances by notable Trump supporters, including Elon Musk, Kid Rock, and UFC CEO Dana White.

Nov 16, 2024; New York, NY, USA; Musician Jelly Roll during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

For Jelly Roll, the encounter was a memorable and powerful moment.

Speaking on his wife Bunnie XO’s podcast, Dumb Blonde, Jelly Roll shared his excitement about Trump’s entrance at Madison Square Garden. “I don’t care who you were, if you were in that building, the hair on your skin stood up,” he said.

“And you looked, and all you’re watching is the president-elect, who got elected like, 8 days ago, walking in, with his entire cabinet with him — almost. You know what I mean? And his kids and his grandchildren. And it was powerful, dude. Like I don’t care what side of the aisle you’re on.”

Social media videos showed Jelly Roll eagerly watching as Trump made his way through the arena.

He addressed the reactions to his visible enthusiasm, saying, “Everybody’s like, ‘You got a goofy smile on your face.’ I’m like, ‘Y’all couldn’t feel what we were feeling.’ Like, that room was palpitating.”

Initially, Jelly Roll didn’t think he would get the chance to meet Trump. “When Trump walks right by me, I’m like, ‘He don’t know who I am.’ So right then I was like, ‘Well. Damn. I’m not gonna get to meet the president. I was kinda sad,’” he said.

However, the two ultimately did meet. Jelly Roll described the encounter, saying, “I kind of look over and [Trump] makes eye contact. And what you don’t see in the video was, he gives me the Trump point. I go to shake his hand, I put my hand on his shoulder, and he puts his hand on my shoulder.”

During their brief exchange, Trump told Jelly Roll that he loved his 2020 emotional ballad, Save Me, and praised the country singer for “doing incredible things.”

Jelly Roll also addressed the backlash he received for meeting Trump. “There’s not a chance in hell I’m not going to meet the president-elect,” he said.

“I don’t care…if I would have got a call to go meet Joe Biden at any point, I would have stopped what I was doing to go meet him. That’s the active president. I wouldn’t have cared what people thought…what I even think about his policies.”

He emphasized that he is not politically active or informed enough to take a firm stance on policies. “I don’t hide behind the ‘I’m not political’ stuff — I’m not political!” he said.

“I like to talk about things I’m passionate about. With that, I like to know about ’em. I don’t know enough about politics to act like I know anything that’s going on, what anybody’s standing for policy-wise.”

Reflecting on his upbringing, Jelly Roll explained his neutral approach to politics. “I didn’t grow up in a voting culture. My father didn’t push voting on me. My mother didn’t push voting on me,” the Tennessee-raised singer said.

“They did push, ‘respect our president’ on me, though. That’s the hardest job in the world. Respect whoever has it, you know?”

Despite the political reactions to his meeting with Trump, Jelly Roll remains focused on his career and his values, maintaining a respectful stance toward the presidency regardless of the individual in office.