Staind frontman Aaron Lewis revisited one of his most polarizing songs and doubled down on his views about the COVID-19 pandemic during a new appearance on “The Right View With Lara Trump” podcast, hosted by Donald Trump‘s daughter-in-law Lara Trump.
Much of the conversation centered on “Am I The Only One“, the 2021 solo single Lewis co-wrote with Ira Dean and Jeffrey Steele. Released five years ago this month, the track took direct aim at liberals and referenced flag-burning and the removal of statues across the country, closing with a pointed jab at Bruce Springsteen — a longtime political opposite of Lewis and a frequent critic of President Donald Trump. The song went on to top Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart.
Lewis explained that the track came together in defiance of pandemic restrictions. “Me and Jeffrey and Ira wrote the song in the middle of COVID shutdown,” he told Lara Trump. “We broke the rules, and we got together and didn’t wear masks.”
He reserved his sharpest words for the government-mandated shutdowns of that period:
“I found that to be the craziest thing that I’ve ever experienced in my 54 years on this Earth. And I never thought in a million years… I can’t even imagine all the grandfathers and the aunts and uncles and great-grandfathers that were rolling over in their grave, watching us give up every last bit of our freedom over fear.”
Lewis went on to make a series of claims about the virus’s lethality, asserting that “0.007 was the original number that was thrown out — 0.007% of the population of the Earth” was projected to die among confirmed cases, before adding: “The flu kills more people than that every year. Everything else was fear. I’m pretty sure the treatments killed more people than the actual virus.”
Those assertions are not supported by public-health data. As of June 2026, the World Health Organization has recorded 7,114,321 confirmed deaths worldwide directly attributed to COVID-19, and researchers broadly agree the real total is considerably higher, given limited early testing, inconsistent reporting protocols and uncounted cases.
Lewis also took aim at vaccine mandates, which restricted where unvaccinated people could work or go during the pandemic. He framed his stance as a matter of personal choice:
“As a boss that is all about people’s rights and everything else, I didn’t get vaccinated. I didn’t make any of my employees get vaccinated. None of my band got vaccinated. And when I got it, inevitably — I’ve been way sicker. Aside from losing my taste and smell, I’ve had colds that were worse.”
It’s far from the first time the singer has voiced anti-vaccine and anti-mask positions. At a March 2022 concert in Portsmouth, Ohio, he unloaded on the media, the internet and large corporations he accused of profiting off locked-down Americans:
“They made you believe that a vaccine was gonna keep you safe,” Aaron said at the time. “They made you think that a f**king mask was gonna keep you safe. They made you think that avoiding your friends and your family and staying locked up in your house was gonna somehow keep you safe. But guess what — didn’t we all get COVID? Didn’t every single of us in this f**king room get COVID and live to tell the tale? We’re okay. I survived. I didn’t stick that poison in my f**king body. I did just fine. I had it twice. I’m not f**king dead.”
The comments arrive as Lewis prepares to release his sixth solo country album, Give My Country Back, on July 17 via Big Machine Label Group.
Lewis will stay busy on the road with his “2026 American Tour“, while Staind is reportedly sitting on a finished ninth studio album expected to follow in 2027.
Give My Country Back Album Track Listing:
- “The Door“
- “Bad Thing To Be Good At“
- “Too High For This“
- “List Of Things To Quit“
- “Give My Country Back“
- “People I’ve Known“
- “Let Go Like The Rain“
- “A Showman’s Life“
- “Keeping Up With The Jonesin’“
- “Duct Tape And Bailing Wire“
Remaining “2026 American Tour” Dates:
- 10 Jul– Paoli, IN – Castle Knoll Amphitheater
- 11 Jul– Ashland, KY – “Rock The Country”
- 16 Jul– Lancaster, PA – American Music Theatre
- 18 Jul– Hampton Beach, NH – Hampton Beach Casino
- 24 Jul– Shipshewana, IN – Blue Gate Performing Arts Center
- 25 Jul– Petros, TN – Historic Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary
- 12 Aug– Roswell, NM – Eastern New Mexico State Fairgrounds
- 13 Aug– Canyon, TX – The Lumberyard / Backyard
- 14 Aug– Fort Worth, TX – Billy Bob’s Texas
- 15 Aug– Mulvane, KS – Kansas Star Casino
