Trump Might Have to Sing at His Own Inauguration

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With Trump’s inauguration coming up in just nine days, his planning team has been scrambling to get everything organized. This team has to coordinate everything – the speeches, guest lists, invitations, and performances. Within the past few weeks, they’ve run into a slight roadblock: there are very few performers willing to perform at the inauguration.

Why? One reason could be that the performers who have been asked simply don’t like Trump. Another could be that they agreed with Brandon Von Dixon of Hamilton when he voiced the fears of many Americans to Mike Pence when he attended a performance. There are others who advocated strongly for Hillary and are still devastated by the loss. However, there may be another potential reason as to why so many A-listers are refusing to perform.

During the last few days of his campaign, Trump boasted that he didn’t “need” celebrities to endorse him, and that he didn’t like it when celebrities endorse politicians. So, the celebrities did what he likes! They didn’t endorse him. And now we are stuck with a President-elect who’s whining and subtweeting about how no one wants to perform at his inauguration.

Oh, the irony.

Among the celebrities who have refused to perform are Elton John, Justin Timberlake, Bruno Mars, and Katy Perry. While Elton John stayed out of American politics during the election, Timberlake, Mars, and Perry were all very pro-Hillary. Katy Perry advocated for Hillary constantly throughout the campaign, and Justin Timberlake held a Hillary Clinton fundraiser at his house. Another who refused was Andrea Bocelli, an Italian opera singer. He was considering it, but due to severe backlash on social media and the sudden swell in the use of #BoycottBocelli, he has decided not to perform.

When it came time for President Obama’s first inauguration, he was able to get several performers, including Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder and Jay Z. For his second inauguration, he was able to call on Beyonce for a second time, in addition to Kelly Clarkson and James Taylor.

So far, President-elect Donald Trump has been able to book sixteen year old singer Jackie Evancho. He also booked the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, although one member quit the choir in protest. The Radio City Rockettes are also scheduled to perform. Although originally the Rockettes’ performance was considered mandatory for the dancers, Radio City has since reversed their position given the public backlash against that requirement. No Rockette will be compelled to perform against her will.

It seems as though everyone has an opinion on the performance lineup (or lack thereof) for Trump’s inauguration. According to the Huffington Post, Idina Menzel, vocal star of Disney’s Frozen, stated, “Maybe he’ll just have to sing something himself. He probably thinks he has a great voice; he thinks he does everything great.” Alec Baldwin, famous for his portrayals of Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live, has volunteered to perform at the inauguration. However, he tweeted that he will only do so if he can sing “Highway to Hell.” Given Trump’s distaste for Baldwin’s portrayal of him, that’s extremely unlikely.