Yahoo Finance Marie Osmond on Trump Inauguration
If reports are to be believed, it seems like President-Elect Donald Trump is having trouble finding A-list talent to perform at his Inauguration on January 20.
Trump, however, claims he’s actively turning away A-listers in order to bring the Inauguration back to “the people.” Whatever the case may be, Trump may want to look to the Osmonds for some inaugural entertainment.
The so-called “A” list celebrities are all wanting tixs to the inauguration, but look what they did for Hillary, NOTHING. I want the PEOPLE!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2016
Donny and Marie haven’t been asked yet, Marie Osmond says. The duo has played at multiple inaugural ceremonies including Ronald Reagan’s in 1981.
“I think when it comes to our country we need to unite,” Marie told Yahoo Finance in a recent interview. “I think we should all support our president whether we’re happy or sad. This is America.”
Marie Osmond, the mother of eight children, says her kids fall over the political spectrum and that she would never want them to feel a divide based on political preference. “We should come together and I think an Inauguration should be a time to unite, it really should,” she said.
An Inauguration marked by controversy
In December the Inaugural Committee announced that the Radio City Rockettes would perform at the ceremony. But controversy followed as several members of the dance troupe said they were being forced to perform against their will. Madison Square Garden quickly changed its rules to allow the dancers to perform on a voluntary basis. In a leaked meeting between MSG Executive Chairman James Dolan and the Rockettes, Dolan told the entertainers, “We’re celebrating a new president, not necessarily this president.”
The Talladega Marching Tornadoes, the marching band for Alabama’s Talladega College, will also perform at the event. The announcement in December led to campus-wide protests and a statement from school president Billy C. Hawkins that “we feel the inauguration of a new president is not a political event but a civil ceremony celebrating the transfer of power.”
Also slated to perform (at their 6th inauguration in a row) are The Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The decision made news, however, when member Jan Chamberlin left the group stating that she could never “throw roses to Hitler and could never sing for him [Trump].”
Finally, Jackie Evancho, a 2010 “America’s Got Talent,” competitor will sing the national anthem at the Inauguration. Evancho has sung for President Barack Obama twice but Trump claims that she is part of his “movement.” He also tweeted that her album sales had skyrocketed since she was set to play the Inauguration.
Jackie Evancho’s album sales have skyrocketed after announcing her Inauguration performance.Some people just don’t understand the “Movement”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2017
The Beach Boys have said they were invited to perform but haven’t yet responded. Rebecca Ferguson, a runner-up on reality talent show “X-Factor” was invited to perform but agreed only on the grounds that she’d be allowed to sing “Strange Fruit,” a song that describes American Racism and in particular the lynching of African Americans. The Trump administration has yet to respond.
Obama, for his part, saw entertainers like Beyoncé, Aretha Franklin, U2 and Bruce Springsteen perform at his Inauguration ceremonies.
Note: Marie Osmond has since clarified that she will be on vacation during President-elect Trump’s inauguration and will not be performing.
