In contrast to his 2017 inauguration, this time around there are a lot of actual famous people signing up to usher Donald Trump into his second term. Earlier this week, it was announced that Carrie Underwood would perform “America the Beautiful” at Trump’s inauguration ceremony. Then, it was reported that Rascal Flatts and Jason Aldean would be playing at different inaugural balls. The obvious addition to this list, of course, is Nelly.
On Friday, CBS reporter Taurean Smalls posted on X that the rapper would be performing at Trump’s Liberty Ball on Monday night, which means he’ll be sharing a bill with Aldean. Semafor reporter Kadia Goba also reported the news on X.
The vibe of this inauguration appears to be “yeehaw,” which makes Nelly one of the only rappers that fits the bill. He’s had country crossover hits with Tim McGraw (“Over and Over”), Florida Georgia Line (“Cruise”), and Kane Brown (“Cool Again”). Little did we know that he had a yeehaw bent to his politics as well.
While this is a bummer — or perhaps … a dilemma (sorry!) — for people who scream when “Hot in Herre” comes on at weddings, I fear we have not fully grappled with what this means. We are almost certainly going to get a video of Trump, Elon Musk, or both of them dancing to “Country Grammar.” I don’t know if this nation is strong enough to handle that.