Rapper Nelly is defending himself from leftist critics who are mad about his decision to perform at President Donald Trump’s inaugural ball.
There were several performances slated for Trump’s Liberty Inaugural Ball on the evening of January 20, including Nelly, country singer Jason Aldean, and the Village People. After Nelly’s participation was announced, his radical leftist fans flooded his social media with attacks for his decision to perform at an event that celebrates Trump.
To his credit, Nelly did not back down — instead firing back by pointing out that his performance was not an endorsement of Trump, but rather because he has “respect” for the office of the president.
“I’m not doing this for money. I’m doing this ’cause it’s an honor. I respect the office. It don’t matter who is in office. The same way that our men and women, our brothers and sisters who protect this country, have to go to war and have to put their life on the line for whoever [is] in office,” he said during a livestream with rapper Willie D on the evening before Trump’s inauguration, adding: “So, if they can put their life on the line for whoever [is] in office, I can damn sure perform for whoever [is] in office.”
“This is not me telling you, ‘Yo, you should vote for this candidate.’ I think you should do your homework and figure out what best helps you and the people who you love and you provide for because I’m clueless on a lot of things when it gets down to it,” Nelly continued.
“But what I will say is that, I respect the office,” he added. “This isn’t politics. The politics, for me, is over. [Trump] won! He’s the president. He’s the commander in chief of what I would like to say is the best country in the world … It is an honor for me to perform for the president of the United States, regardless of who is in office.”
Nelly went on to emphasize the fact that he was performing to donor the office of the president, not Trump.
“If President Biden would’ve asked me to perform, I would’ve performed,” he said. “If Vice President Kamala Harris would’ve won and asked me to perform, I would’ve performed … I didn’t know that you was riding with me because you thought I would ride for who you voted for. I didn’t know that I had to agree with your political choices. If you follow what I do, this shouldn’t even be an argument.”
When asked if he considers himself to be a Trump supporter, Nelly responded: “I support the president of the United States regardless of who is in office. Regardless, I respect the office.”
🚨 EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Rapper & Grammy Award Winner Nelly Explains Why He Performed for President Trump!
“I did this for free. I didn’t get any of the $1.5 million Kamala Harris was handing out—she didn’t call me.
President Trump already won the election. I’m not doing this for… pic.twitter.com/vEYgFiWvQa
— Tony Lane 🇺🇸 (@TonyLaneNV) January 19, 2025
Meanwhile, conservative social media users celebrated Nelly’s decision, with some even contradicting his claims about not being a Trump supporter — pointing to a previous performance where the rapper could be heard yelling “MAGA” on stage.
Hip-hop superstar Nelly will be performing at President Trump's Inauguration Liberty Ball.
Nelly recently shouted “MAGA!” in the middle of his performance at the AMA Awards.
Trump has the streets supporting him now. pic.twitter.com/6isSUj8qJ9
— George (@BehizyTweets) January 17, 2025
