Russell Brand and Carrie Underwood lead unlikely celebrities at Donald Trump inauguration

Monday saw Donald Trump return to the White House as the President of the United States of America – a title he has now had twice.

The 78-year-old former host of The Apprentice is back as the 47th president – having previously enjoyed power from 2017 until 2021 as the 45th. After an astonishing win at the 2024 election, the politician was in Washington DC on Monday, and supported by his family, as he was sworn in for his second term.

While Trump’s 2017 inauguration may have been a tame affair, his 2025 ceremony has been a much more glitzy event. Celebrities, singers and star billionaires have been in the US Capitol to cheer on the returning president.

And former presidents also lined up to watch Trump return to office – although one former First Lady was notable by her absence. Here are some of the big stars who turned out to support Trump at the event.

Star singers

A whole host of musical stars came out to support Trump on his big day. Opera singer Christopher Macchio was given the honour of singing twice – performing O America! at the beginning of proceedings and returning to belt out the American national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner, at the end of the ceremony.

Carrie Underwood had a headlining role when she performed America The Beautiful alongside the Armed Forces Choir and the US Naval Academy Glee Club moments before Trump was sworn in as the 47th president. Her set was hit by a technical glitch but she stunned those in attendance by singing acapella instead.

Elsewhere during the inauguration on Monday, Country singer Lee Greenwood performed God Bless the U.S.A – a song he has previously revealed he wrote within 30 minutes in the back of his tour bus in 1983. He previously sang for Trump in 2017 and George H. W. Bush in 1989 at their respective swearing in ceremonies.

Rap sensation Snoop Dogg – despite slamming celebrities that considered going to Trump’s 2017 inauguration – appeared proud to attend the 2025 ceremony and performed at the Crypto Ball in Washington DC. Fellow rap star Nelly was also on the bill to take to the stage at the Liberty Inaugural Ball, and defended his choice to take part, saying: “[It is] an honour for me to perform for the president of the United States, regardless of who is in office”.

Country stars Billy Ray Cyrus and Kid Rock showed their support ahead of the inauguration on Monday by taking to the stage at the Make America Great Again Rally at Capital One Arena in Washington on Sunday. Meanwhile, fellow country singer Jason Aldean, singer and saxophonist Lee Greenwood, and The Village People all had performance duties lined up for Monday night at The Liberty Ball.

The Village People also performed on Sunday night – with the group inadvertently close to the Trump campaign after he adopted their iconic song YMCA as his theme tune during his election trail. Frontman Victor Willis previously warned fans about their performance slot with a Facebook post, stating: “We know this won’t make some of you happy to hear, however we believe that music is to be performed without regard to politics.

“Our song Y.M.C.A. is a global anthem that hopefully helps bring the country together after a tumultuous and divided campaign where our preferred candidate lost. Therefore, we believe it’s now time to bring the country together with music, which is why Village People will be performing at various events as part of the 2025 Inauguration of Donald J Trump.”

Tech billionaires

It wasn’t just stars dazzling fans at the ceremony on Monday, billionaires were also out in force to watch the former The Apprentice judge take the reigns of the USA once more. Amazon owner Jeff Bezos – worth just shy of $240 billion (£195 billion) – was in attendance with his fiancée Lauren Sánchez.

Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg – worth over $211 billion (£171 billion) – had a seat at the ceremony even through he faced accusations of suppressing information during the Biden-Trump campaign of 2020. The social media star raised eyebrows when a photograph circulated seemingly showing him inspecting Lauren Sánchez’s neckline.

Tesla, SpaceX and X owner Elon Musk was also there – having played a key role in getting Trump elected by shining positive news on his campaign via social media. Musk – worth just under $440 billion (£357 billion) – also gave two thumbs up when Trump suggested that America send rockets to Mars in the coming years; an ambition the South African billionaire is working to achieve.

YouTube stars

Wrestler Logan and boxer Jake Paul – who both found fame on YouTube – were spotted among the crowds gathered to cheer on Trump. Fellow YouTuber Joe Rogan – who found fame as a UFC commentator – was also in attendance.

The 57-year-old has been regarded as having a key role in Trump’s election as he interviewed the politician in a far ranging discussion on his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, days before the election. The chat, which went on for over three hours, was listened to by almost 40 million people within days – and clocked up over 27 million views via X alone after it was released.

Rogan implored fellow campaigner Kamala Harris to also join him for a lengthy discussion – but she refused to fly to him and offered a limited amount of time. Rogan argued that he did not understand who Harris was and hoped to have his mind changed by interviewing her – but he fully endorsed Trump after his requests to interview her failed.

Russell Brand was also spotted arriving at the Capitol, where he was greeted by The Mirror’s Chris Bucktin.

Past Presidents

While the 2025 inauguration was clearly all about Donald, fellow former presidents were also in attendance to applaud him into office. Outgoing President Joe Biden was present and correct to hand back the control of the country after taking over from Trump four years earlier.

Trump’s former campaign opponent Hillary Clinton was at the inauguration alongside her husband Bill. Past president George W Bush was also there – as was Barack Obama.

Noticeably absent was Barack’s wife, Michelle, who reportedly refused to attend as she opposes Trump’s policies. However, the Obamas are facing increasing rumours that their marriage is on the rocks and that they could be headed for divorce.

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