Trump and Celebrity Approval: You Can’t Always Get What You Want

Let’s reminisce, for a moment, about the Inauguration of Barack Obama. It was freezing cold. Many of us felt a combination of disbelief and incredible joy. Obama took just the right tone. “I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you’ve bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors,” he began. He paid respect to the nation’s diversity: “For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and non-believers.” Aretha Franklin, in that dazzling, newsmaking gray hat, sang “My Country, ’Tis of Thee”; Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Gabriela Montero, and Anthony McGill played “Air and Simple Gifts,” composed and arranged for the event by John Williams, with references to the Shaker song and to Aaron Copland. The biggest controversy involved cold weather, classical instruments, and recorded music. At the Neighborhood Ball, for the Obamas’ first dance, Beyoncé, introduced by Denzel Washington, sang “At Last”—gorgeously, movingly. The Obamas approached that moment with their usual grace and good humor; at the end, Beyoncé, herself moved, blew them a kiss.