Florida’s 1st Congressional District representative Jimmy Patronis said that award-winning rapper and songwriter Jelly Roll is “not welcome” in the Florida Panhandle after comments he made as a guest host on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Monday night.
Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason DeFord, made comments disparaging President Donald Trump’s weight and joked about his low approval ratings during his opening monologue.
“In the last few years, I’ve lost 300 pounds. That means I’ve lost an entire Donald Trump,” DeFord said. “And let’s be honest, based on his approval ratings, it seems like most of the country wants the same thing.”
But the “Son of a Sinner” singer said his comments on Trump’s weight are no worse than comments the president has made about others.
“We shouldn’t be making fun of the president for his weight because we know that he would never do that to other people,” he said, before playing several clips of Trump calling people “fat slobs” and “fat pigs.”
“If that ain’t the pot calling the kettle fat. Well, Mr. President, from one fat pig to another, take it from me that physical fitness is very important. And trust me, you’ll be happy to see your” manhood again, he added.
Patronis was one of several Trump allies who jumped to his defense on social media.
“Jelly Roll is 100% not welcome to Florida’s Panhandle,” Patronis wrote on social media platform X. “I don’t even want to see his bus on I-10. 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.”
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: U.S. Rep. Jimmy Patronis says Jelly Roll ‘not welcomed’ in Florida Panhandle