The Inaugural Trainwreck Cometh

Save for a few artists too young to fully appreciate the implications, or those simply permitted to “voluntarily" perform, it’s become apparent that nearly the entire entertainment industry is revolted by the prospect of serenading the Orange Swindler on January 20th when Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts degrades the Bible and our Constitution by swearing him into office.

Interestingly, the Trump campaign appears now to be focused on finding people who couldn’t or likely wouldn’t possibly have voted for him, such as the 16-year old Jackie Evancho, the Italian national Andrea Bocelli, the New York-based Rockettes, and those members of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir still willing to sing on January 20th. As Miles Raymer, writing for Esquire puts it:

This painfully archaic collection of talent is what America would look like if white American culture had been hermetically sealed in 1949, the way a lot of white people in America fantasize about. This is the "Make America Great Again" of music booking that aging ultra-conservatives are trying to vote into reality. It's a place where the national anthem is still a hit. A place where rock 'n' roll and hip-hop are only distant rumors. A place so painfully, anxiously white there isn't even any country music.

As Trump’s desperation for any A-list talent to show up and disgrace themselves reaches a fever pitch, the refusals have become more creative. The latest person to decline Trump’s invitation is British classical singer Charlotte Church who performed at George W. Bush’s Inaugural. Ms. Church clearly had other ideas:

x @realDonaldTrump Your staff have asked me to sing at your inauguration, a simple Internet search would show I think you're a tyrant. ByeÃ°ÂÂÂ©Ã°ÂÂÂ©Ã°ÂÂÂ©Ã°ÂÂÂ© — Charlotte Church (@charlottechurch) January 10, 2017

Note—As carefully pointed out in the New York Times, the emojis at the end of Ms. Church’s Tweet are what you think they are.

Similarly, “X-Factor" runner-up Rebecca Ferguson advised she’d gladly appear but only if she was permitted to sing a Billie Holiday protest song about blacks being lynched in Indiana. Although the reaction of the Trump/Pence organization to this is not recorded, there may have been some concern about how this would go over with its white supremacist following. In any event, Ms. Ferguson will not be singing.

Famed DJ Moby was also given an invite. He refused as well, citing concerns about inadequate compensation:

Posting on his Instagram page, he said he was "laughing" at the invite and would DJ at the inaugural ball "if as payment Trump released his tax returns".

Moby also confirmed that if he were to end up DJ’ng an Inaugural event, he would entertain the Republicans by playing Public Enemy and Stockhausen.

Of course, it may also simply be that these performers are concerned about lack of accommodations. As indignantly reported in the right-leaning The Hill, it seems that Airbnb members in the DC area are exercising their Constitutional rights to say “no” to Trump supporters renting out their homes:

“We don’t trust Trump supporters to stay in our place,” another host told the Huffington Post, expressing concern that Trump supporters would damage her home after seeing her art collection and characterizing her as a “liberal elite.” The host said, however, that she might re-evaluate her decision if rental space grows scarce and she can command an even higher rate because she wouldn’t mind “gouging” Trump fans.

And indeed, it appears that some residents of DC are happy to remind Trump’s Republican backers of the joys of the “free market.” As The Hill complains:

Specifically, Airbnb users in and around Washington, D.C., appear to be engaging in flagrant price gouging with absolutely no curtailment from the company. One home that usually runs only $165 per night shoots to $819 per night the weekend of the inauguration. Another that runs only $96 per night most of the time runs $957 the weekend of the inauguration. Perhaps most comically, one shared room that usually runs only $19 per night hits a mind-boggling $1062 the weekend of the inauguration.

Ouch! Those prices sound about as fair as the tuition to Trump University.