A non-issue.
Of course there was plenty of backlash when it was announced that Carrie Underwood would be performing at the inauguration of President Donald Trump tomorrow.
The country music superstar and American Idol alum has usually kept pretty quiet on politics, although there have been signs that she leaned right in the past. But many on the (tolerant) left weren’t happy when it was announced that Carrie would be appearing at the inauguration to perform “America the Beautiful” immediately before Trump’s swearing in as the 47th President of the United States.
There were people who claimed they would be boycotting Carrie’s music, while others took to the comments of American Idol on Instagram to demand that the show remove Carrie as a judge.
Yeah, it’s all pretty ridiculous.
Carrie has been silent on the criticism, releasing a statement after the announcement saying only that she was honored for the opportunity to perform for her country:
“I love our country and am honored to have been asked to sing at the Inauguration and to be a small part of this historic event.
I am humbled to answer the call at a time when we must all come together in the spirit of unity and looking to the future.”
Sounds pretty reasonable to me. But hey, people always have to have something to be outraged about.
Amidst the backlash, John Rich called out who he says are “top tier country artists” who support Trump in private, but are afraid to voice their support publicly, calling on them to stand up for their beliefs:
There are several top tier country artists who support Trump, and I wish they’d finally have the balls to come forward and be counted. Ain’t nothing outlaw about keeping your mouth shut to appease the record label. Carrie Underwood is making you look like a bunch of sissy boys🤣
— John Rich🇺🇸 (@johnrich) January 13, 2025
And Lee Greenwood is also coming out in defense of Carrie and her decision to perform at the inauguration.
Of course Greenwood has been a vocal Trump supporter, with his song “God Bless the USA” being used by the incoming president during his campaign. Along the way, Greenwood has performed his song during Trump’s rally at MSG, as well as the president’s return to Butler, Pennsylvania after the assassination attempt and at the RNC, during Trump’s first appearance following the shooting.
And Greenwood will also be performing at the inauguration ceremony, a decision that he believes shouldn’t be controversial no matter who the president is:
“I don’t think it affects Carrie… She’s going to do a great job with ‘America the Beautiful.’ I pity those people that think they have to reach out to a star like her and run some negativity past her when all you have to do is say, ‘Thank you for performing for our next president.’
I mean, he is the next president. Stop this negative crap. Let’s move on.”
Carrie Underwood and Lee Greenwood aren’t the only artists who will be taking part in the inaugural festivities. Kid Rock and the Village People are performing today at a “Make America Great Again” victory rally ahead of tomorrow’s inauguration, and Parker McCollum, Jason Aldean, Gavin DeGraw and Rascal Flatts are just some of the artists who will be performing for the president at the various inaugural balls he plans to attend after the swearing-in ceremony.
And Greenwood is right that the decision to perform at the inauguration shouldn’t be a controversial one. Garth Brooks performed at President Joe Biden’s inauguration four years ago, and Brad Paisley played at an inaugural ball for President Barack Obama back in 2012.
Seems like it should be an honor for any country artist – or any artist in general – to be asked to perform at an event as historical as a presidential inauguration.
But as we’ve seen from the past 8+ years, people are going to be mad at anything associated with Trump. And as the 2024 election proved, it doesn’t really matter anyway.
This post was originally published on here
