A conservative television host had an on-air meltdown over a country music star’s jokes about President Donald Trump’s weight, going so far as to delete the singer’s songs from his phone during the broadcast.
Carl Higbie, a former U.S. Navy SEAL who hosts Newsmax’s Carl Higbie Frontline and has held roles with pro-Trump groups including America First Policies and Great America PAC, addressed the controversy surrounding Jelly Roll, who has been filling in as guest host of Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show this week.
“Jelly Roll, who was previously a favorite of mine, he’s been filling in for Jimmy Kimmel this week. And after intentionally staying out of politics for like his whole career, he decided to come in hot with Trump jokes, calling him a fat pig, and he’s not exactly a calendar model himself,” Higbie said. “And then he doubled down after getting backlash with MAGA.”
Higbie played a clip in which Jelly Roll addressed critics threatening to boycott his music. “So for those who threatened to stop listening to my music based on my comments last night, I just wanna say with conviction, go right ahead,” the singer said.
Higbie responded by deleting one of Jelly Roll’s songs from his Apple Music app on camera. “Go ahead. OK, dude. OK. I’ll be deleting his music as we speak,” he said, dramatically removing the track “I Am Not OK.”
“I held him in high regards until then. Come on, dude,” he added.
Higbie’s reaction followed a broader wave of Republican outrage. Florida Representative Jimmy Patronis, who had once invited Jelly Roll to perform at the Gulf Coast Jam festival, turned on the singer.
“@JellyRoll615 is 100% not welcomed to Florida’s panhandle. I don’t even want to see his bus on I-10,” Patronis wrote on X. “He’s always been the token ‘country’ star the libs in California are allowed to enjoy. (He ain’t country, never was.) Take the TDS elsewhere, loser.”
The controversy began when Jelly Roll used his opening monologue to raise concerns about Trump’s health, in classic Kimmel show fashion. “A lot of doctors are worried about the president’s weight,” he said. “After his last physical, we found out Trump gained 14 pounds, which means he is now tipping the scales at almost 240. That’s crazy.”
He added, “Think about this, y’all, in the few last years I’ve lost 300 pounds. That means I’ve lost an entire Donald Trump,” before noting, “based on his approval ratings, it seems like most of the country wants to do the same thing.”
Self-appointed MAGA spokesperson Gunther Eagleman didn’t take it well, writing on X, “Jelly Roll made a YUGE mistake going after Trump. Dumb,” and later adding, “Is there anyone who is still a fan of Jelly Roll? Dude is getting absolutely destroyed on social media.”
Commentator Eric Daugherty accused the singer of hypocrisy, sharing footage of Jelly Roll meeting Trump and writing, “JELLY ROLL EXPOSED AS A MASSIVE FRAUD.” MAGA YouTuber Benny Johnson claimed the singer had “DESTROYED His Career on LIVE-TV.”
Jelly Roll didn’t back down. “I can’t believe out of all the jokes I’ve told the past few nights, the one that really seemed to make people mad about what I said about the president was when I said he was overweight,” he said Wednesday.
“I thought fat-on-fat crime was OK. I mean, we can debate whether this president is mentally fit, but I think we can all agree he is certainly not physically fit.”
He then aired a mock ad for a fictional weight loss drug called “Donjaro,” complete with a fake voiceover warning of side effects including “meeting drowsiness, irritability, confusion, bruising of the hands, massive kankles, and orgasmic grunting.”
He closed with one more jab. “Wouldn’t it be nice to see Trump lose something besides the war, his popularity and most of his f--king marbles?” he said. “And just so we’re clear, I believe in you, Mr. President. With a little hard work, one day your waistline will be just as thin as your skin.”
