Donald Trump Inauguration update: event planner claims everything is going smoothly despite difficulty in booking performers
President Barack Obama's farewell address in McCormick Place, Chicago stresses the fact that it's only a few days before upcoming successor Donald Trump enters the White House. But before that, the businessman-turned-politician has his Inauguration event in front of him. And so far, planning has not really been going well for his team.
It is no secret Trump and his team are having difficulties booking singers and performers to step on the stage for his momentous occasion, which is ironic since the billionaire has spent most of his life rubbing elbows with A-listers. So far, the likes of Sir Elton John and The Beastie Boys have turned down the gig with some other ones like UK's "X-Factor" runner up Rebecca Ferguson's appearance still to be determined.
Despite the obvious, event planner Tom Barrack maintains that everything is fine adding that the President-elect does not want a "circus-like celebration" for his Inauguration. "His instruction to me was the campaign is over, 'I am not president for all the people. I want you to build a bridge and tie them back in. I was to heal the wounds and I want to get back to work on Saturday morning,'" Barrack said to a group of reporters including Buzzfeed News.
Trump has not shied away from his dislike of majority of the Hollywood people, at least right now. Recently, in a Twitter tirade, as a response to Meryl Streep's powerful speech in this year's Golden Globes, he called her "over-rated." This of course sparked a lot of comments from both sides of the coin but mostly the actress' industry stood by her. The 70-year-old has also slammed those A-listers for openly antagonizing him mocking their prowess when a lot of them openly campaigned for Hillary Clinton who lost to him.
"We're fortunate in that we have the greatest celebrity in the world, which is the president-elect; side by side is the current president," Barrack further said. "So what we've done instead of trying to surround him with what people consider A-listers is we are going to surround him with the soft sensuality of the place. It's a much more poetic cadence than having a circus-like celebration that's a coronation. That's the way this president-elect wanted it. I think it will be contributive. It will be beautiful. The cadence of it is going to be 'let me get back to work.'"
President-elect Donald Trump's Inauguration will be held on Friday, Jan. 20, on on the West Front of the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.