Kanye West wasn’t invited to perform at Trump inauguration because it’s ‘traditionally American’
AP Photo/Seth Wenig
President-elect Donald Trump, left, and Kanye West pose for a picture in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016.
Kanye West may be a friend of President-elect Donald Trump, but Trump’s team reportedly didn’t have the hip-hop artist in mind for Friday’s inauguration.
Tom Barrack, chairman of Trump’s Presidential Inauguration Committee, told CNN’s Erin Burnett that the inauguration wouldn’t be an appropriate venue for West, a hugely influential but polarizing figure in music.
“He’s been great, he considers himself a friend of the president-elect, but it’s not the venue,” Barrack said. “It’s going to be typically and traditionally American, and Kanye is a great guy, we just haven’t asked him to perform. And we move on with our agenda.”
The “traditionally American” reasoning is sure to rankle some, given that West is a uniquely American artist — born in Atlanta, raised in Chicago, and working in a genre that is native to the US.
Kanye West met with Trump after he was elected president, in December, in New York City, leading to a strange photo opportunity in the lobby of Trump Tower.
The Trump inaugural committee has reportedly run into trouble booking A-list talent to perform. Headliners for the inauguration include 3 Doors Down and the country artists Toby Keith and Lee Greenwood.
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