Donald Trump will be once again be sworn in as president on Monday. His team has curated an interesting lineup of performers for the inauguration festivities, including Carrie Underwood, Kid Rock, Jason Aldean, Village People, Rascal Flatts, Billy Ray Cyrus, Gavin DeGraw, and Nelly. Some of those names aren't too surprising, but some people were taken aback by Nelly's decision. The 50-year-old rapper addressed those concerns in a recent interview with Geto Boys' Willie D, saying the opportunity to perform at a Trump event was "an honor."
Nelly threw around some classic Trump-supporter platitudes, opining that "the things you do" matter more than "the things you say should be done" and that he's not trying to tell anyone who to vote for. "I didn’t know that I had to agree with your political choices,” he said in response to the backlash. "If you follow what I do, this shouldn’t even be an argument. [Trump's] the president. He won.” Emphasizing that his family is full of military vets, Nelly continued:
I’m not doing this for money. I’m doing this because it’s an honor. I respect the office. It don’t matter who is in office. The same way our brothers and sisters go to war to put their life on the line for whoever is in office. So, if they can put their life on the line for whoever is in office, I can damn sure perform for whoever is in office.
The "office" was also a big talking point for Nelly, who pointed out that he would've performed for whoever was being inaugurated. OK, sure! Watch the interview below.
Soulja Boy has also defended his performance at Trump's pre-inaugural Crypto Ball, which Snoop Dogg performed at as well:
https://twitter.com/nojumper/status/1881023098583208155?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
UPDATE: On Monday night, Jewel also gave a surprise performance, at the Make America Healthy Again Ball celebrating Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
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