Lee Greenwood Stepped Up to Defend Trump and Says It Is Not Politics That Keeps Him By Trump
Half a dozen major music acts turned their backs on Trump's 250th birthday celebration this summer.
Lee Greenwood just explained why he never considered doing the same.
What he said about his bond with Trump goes back long before politics ever mattered.
Greenwood Reveals The Real Reason He Never Considered Bailing
Greenwood didn't hide behind a publicist's statement when Fox News Digital asked him about the artists who fled.
"I'm just very proud to stand next to the man that I appreciate that runs our country," Greenwood said.
That loyalty predates Trump's entire political career.
Greenwood's wife, Kimberly Payne, spent nearly three decades with the Miss USA pageant, and the couple has been friends with the Trump family for years, long before the first campaign ever launched.
Greenwood said he's backed Trump from the very beginning and made clear he isn't thinking about party labels while he performs this Fourth of July.
He also pushed back on the idea that America has never been more divided.
"Do you not remember the Civil War, the Revolutionary War, of course, Vietnam at a time when we just really had to struggle to find out who we were," Greenwood said.
As for the acts who walked away, Greenwood said he has no hard feelings, insisting the celebration was never about politics in the first place.
Six Stars Bailed The Moment Trump's Name Got Attached
Martina McBride, Young MC, Bret Michaels, The Commodores and Morris Day and the Time all quit the Great American State Fair concert series within days of their names being announced.
Young MC claimed on social media that organizers never disclosed the event's political ties and accused them of a switcheroo.
McBride said the show had "turned out to be misleading" after she was promised a nonpartisan celebration.
Critics online were quick to point out McBride had no such objection performing at the Obama White House for a Stevie Wonder tribute back in 2009.
Bret Michaels claimed his crew received threats and that the event had turned far more divisive than what he originally signed on for.
Trump did not take the mass exodus quietly.
He torched the acts on Truth Social as "overpriced singers, who nobody wants to hear," then announced he would personally headline the opening ceremony himself.
Vanilla Ice refused to fold and said he was honored to do the show.
A Friendship That Predates Every Trump Campaign
Greenwood sang at George H.W. Bush's inauguration in 1989 and returned to perform at both of Trump's inaugurations, in 2017 and again in January 2025.
He also introduced Trump onstage in Butler, Pennsylvania, months after the assassination attempt on the then-candidate, an appearance he has called one of the most historic moments of his career performing for presidents.
That decades-long track record is exactly why his answer carried weight when he explained why he was staying while six other acts ran.
Trump Is Closing Out The 250th With His Own Rally
Trump is billing today's event at the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument as "the most spectacular TRUMP RALLY of them all," a "Tribute To America" starting at 7 p.m.
He promised on Truth Social that the night will end with what he called "the LARGEST FIREWORKS SHOW IN HISTORY."
Trump delivered remarks at Mount Rushmore the night before, echoing an Independence Day tradition from his first term.
Greenwood will be standing right there with him, the same way he's stood through four decades of Republican conventions, rallies and rebuilt anthems.
The Difference Between Loyalty And A Press Release
Hollywood loves to lecture America about unity until unity means standing next to Donald Trump.
McBride sang for the Obamas at the White House without a second thought, then suddenly discovered her conscience the moment Trump's name showed up on the marquee.
Six acts had months to learn who was actually running the event they signed up for, then acted stunned when the answer was the sitting President of the United States.
Greenwood didn't need a walk-back statement to answer the same question.
A farm kid from California who wrote a chart-topping anthem in the back of a tour bus already knew exactly who he was loyal to, and it was never about which party held the White House.
Sources:
- Brie Stimson and Larry Fink, "Lee Greenwood says he's 'very proud' to stand next to Trump during America's 250th celebration," Fox News, July 3, 2026.
- Michael Sinkewicz, "Trump set to kick off America 250 celebration after artists pull out," Fox News, May 31, 2026.
- Janelle Ash, "Martina McBride faces backlash after claiming she was misled by fair," Fox News, May 29, 2026.
- Ashley J. DiMella, "Trump returns to Mount Rushmore for a Fourth of July fireworks show," Fox News, July 3, 2026.
- FOX Rochester Staff, "Trump unveils 'most spectacular TRUMP RALLY' for July 4 on the National Mall," FOX Rochester, June 15, 2026.
