Trots Out Gov. DeSantis in Florida

12:17 PM PT -- 10/30 -- Luke Bryan has responded to the backlash hes getting over the DeSantis appearance, and he basically says the cause is greater than any given person -- polarizing as they may be.

Bryan is definitely defending himself here, noting he doesnt delve into politics for a reason ... and that the DeSantis thing isnt inherently political in and of itself. As LB puts it, he did this for hurricane relief and felt compelled to answer the call when he was asked to help.

Luke Bryan brought out Governor Ron DeSantis as a special guest during one of his concerts this week ... and it doesnt look like the internet is very happy about it.

The country singer was performing Friday in Jacksonville, FL, and at one point in the show ... he brought out RDS to join him onstage, this after announcing they were gonna be raising money that night for relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Ian.

The Gov. comes out to some pretty strong applause and begins throwing hats into the crowd ... and, eventually, Luke embraces him when they finally come face to face.

One Twitter user -- who seems to have shot this video -- wrote ... "DeSantis  just walked out on stage at Luke Bryan. It’s deafening in here." Her clip has now gone viral with retweets and quote tweets, with A LOT of people expressing their disapproval over DeSantis cameo.

The reactions speak for themselves ... folks are saying that LB is "off the playlist" now because of his perceived politics -- when, in reality, all he did was say he wanted to contribute to fundraising efforts in the state to help people still struggling to recover.

The fact he yukked it up with DeSantis, though, seems to be shocking some Twitter users. Lukes considered a pretty likeable, mainstream celeb (hes a current judge on American Idol) -- and the notion of him welcoming DeSantis with open arms is apparently ... jarring.

Luke, for his part, hasnt said he supports DeSantis policies one way or another ... again, all he did was say he was going to fundraise on behalf of Florida. A line crossed, we suppose?

Originally Published -- 10/29 4:25 PM PT