"God Bless the USA" singer Lee Greenwood told Newsmax on Friday that it was "an honor and a privilege" to sing his hit song as former President Donald Trump entered the Republican National Convention on Thursday.
"It is an honor and a privilege, and I've done this for an awful long time," Greenwood on "Wake Up America." "I sang at two inaugurations at the Lincoln Memorial. This is the 40th anniversary of 'God Bless the USA.' It's also the 40th year since the very first Republican ever used 'God Bless the USA' as an entrance. Of course, that was [former President] Ronald Reagan."
Trump has frequently used Greenwood's patriotic anthem as his entrance music, but the country singer said after the attempt on the 45th president's life at his Butler, Pennsylvania, campaign rally, it was unclear if he would attend the GOP convention in Milwaukee.
"First of all, we didn't know if he was even going to come to the RNC after Saturday night's assassination attempt," Greenwood said. "I think he rested all day Sunday, and then they called us Sunday night and said the president would like you to come into Milwaukee early on Monday and sing for him, for his entrance, like he has done in the past so many times.
"I noticed when he climbed the stairs, he was very deliberate, he wanted to make sure he didn't trip or anything. He just very cautiously got into place, I got eye contact for a moment and, of course, that's an awful lot of trust, when they said introduce the president at a point when you think he's ready for that introduction. I did so, it worked out really well, and I'm so proud of him having such courage, defiance, and strength."
Greenwood described the last night of the RNC in Milwaukee as "an interesting mixed bag of things."
"Of course a great national anthem, from [retired professional wrestler] Hulk [Hogan] to [singer] Kid Rock and reverence, as you noticed, the president, the first thing he said was, 'Thank my God Almighty, I'm still alive.' And the audience immediately cheered, 'Yes you are, yes you are,' and we want you to continue to be good and healthy and run this campaign," Greenwood said.
"But he was energized, and I was so pleased when he stepped out. I finished my song, he turned and saluted me, which we've done quite a few times before in his previous term, and now here we are again, 2024, moving forward to take the presidency back."
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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