Vince Gill he was happy to honor a friend George Strait at the Kennedy Center Honors – but that doesn’t mean you’re a fan of the President Donald Trump.
Gill, 68, admitted during the March 18 episode of the “Nashville Now” podcast that he should have “considered saying yes” to an invitation to perform at the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors after Trump, 79, took over as the center’s chairman, inappropriately renaming the iconic center the “Trump Kennedy Center.”
The country singer explained that performing in celebration of Strait, 73, however, was not a thing.
“Yeah, that was tough,” Gill said Rolling Stone top music editor and podcast host Joseph Hudak to honor Strait when he received an award at the annual ceremony. But George has been my friend for 43 years, and I did it for George.
As Hudak and Gill continued to discuss the event, the singer revealed that her feelings for Trump are not what one would consider positive.
Gill did not use the president’s name, but said, “I don’t have much respect for” Hudak, who has been described as a person driven by “narcissism.” The Grammy winner noted, however, that he is not “a political person.”
“I’m not going to knock anybody down, and that’s not my way of doing it,” Gill explained. “I met this man twice and I was totally uninspired, you know? And I don’t understand treating people that way at any level.”
George Strait, Vince Gill.
Paul Morigi/Getty ImagesThe “When I Call Your Name” singer said, “I’m a conservative on a lot of issues. I’m a liberal on a lot of issues. I don’t think I live one way.”
He commented, “You can call me woke. You can call me biblical. You can call me all those things. And I think a lot of them are true. But you don’t have to stay on one lane and only be on that lane. I think every story has its pros and cons.”
Gill shared that she chose to sing for Strait at the Kennedy Center Honors because of their friendship — but the incumbent wasn’t something she fully cared about.
“I’m not going to try to make a point. I’m not going to try to encourage anybody to think like I do,” Gill said. “I want people to be kind to each other. … Kindness can end everything.”
President Donald Trump has a lot to say about George Clooney’s new life as a French citizen. “Good news! George and Amal Clooney, two of the worst political forecasters of all time, have become French citizens, sadly, in the midst of a serious crime problem due to their horrible treatment. […]
Us Weekly has reached out to the White House for comment.
While Gill tries to be as neutral as possible about his political affiliations, not all celebrities have kept their feelings about Trump quiet.
Maren Morrisfor example, he criticized Trump supporters earlier this month after America went to war with Iraq.
“I have no forgiveness for the three Trumpers or the Trumpers,” Morris, 35, said in a March 6 TikTok video. “You voted for this. You’re a demented, diaper-wearing, cornball, former TV host … you voted for this and you got bamboozled.”
He added, “This is the real result of naming and voting for losers.”
