Things were absolutely incredible at the opening ceremony for President Donald Trump’s Monday, January 20 inauguration, during which country music superstar Carrie Underwood performed an absolutely stirring rendition of “America the Beautiful” for the crowded audience in the Capitol Rotunda.
As background, the Capitol Rotunda was the location for the inauguration ceremony because of the cold wave that struck America for the week, with dangerously low temperatures seen as a potential life-or-death matter for elderly members of the crowd. So, it was moved inside, rather than on the National Mall, the typical location. It was the first time in decades that the ceremony had to be moved inside.
Underwood, speaking before the inauguration ceremony in which she participated in a statement, said she was humbled to participate in bringing Americans together to build a better future, saying, “I am humbled to answer the call at a time when we must all come together in the spirit of unity and looking to the future.”
She also said, in that statement about why she decided to perform for the Trump inauguration ceremony, “We need to come together.” Further, she noted that she was honored to get to participate, saying, “I love our country and am honored to have been asked to sing at the Inauguration and to be a small part of this historic event.”
In any case, backed by the Armed Forces Chorus and the United States Naval Academy Glee Club, Underwood delivered an absolutely beautiful rendition of “American the Beautiful” that saw the crowd get emotional. Even former President Joe Biden, who refused to stand or clap when others did during Trump’s speech, could be seen standing up and singing along with Underwood.
Making the moment all the more beautiful was that a technical glitch meant she had to sing a capella, but, like Biden, the crowd, Democrat and Republican alike, largely joined in with her and sang along in a marvelous moment of the unity about which she spoke in her statement on why she would perform.
Posting about that on X (formerly Twitter), Jonathan Turley said, “Carrie Underwood owned the moment after the glitch in the music for America the Beautiful by singing a cappella. It took an embarrassing moment and made it magnificent as Republicans and Democrats helped sing with her. It may go down as one of my favorite inauguration moments. It overcame the moment in unity. Beautiful voice and beautiful moment.” Watch her here:
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Another person on X, posting about her singing, noted that Trump seemed to be “thoroughly impressed” with her singing and her overcoming the technical glitch at hand, saying, “Carrie Underwood sings a beautiful version of America the Beautiful. Trump is thoroughly impressed. America is so back. 
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Similarly, the Vigilant Fox X account posted, “During her performance of “America the Beautiful” at Trump’s inauguration, Carrie Underwood faced technical difficulties when the music failed. Showing professionalism, she asked the audience for help and sang the song a cappella like a legend.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video