Barack Obama got Beyoncé and Kelly Clarkson to perform at his second inauguration, but from the looks of it, Trump can’t even get Justin Guarini (never forget From Justin To Kelly). Apparently, no one wants to play at Trump’s inauguration and he’s offering some pretty sweet bribes gifts to talent bookers who help him land A-list talent.
According to The Wrap, Donald Trump’s team has offered ambassadorships to at least two talent bookers if they could deliver A-list talent. The anonymous bookers claimed that Trump’s Presidential Inaugural Committee approached them with offers of cash and diplomatic posts if they managed to convince someone to perform.
“Never in a million years have I heard something so crazy,” said one of the bookers. “That was the moment I almost dropped the phone.”
Apparently, he can’t even snag Yeezy. Though Trump’s recent meeting with Kanye West sparked speculation, it definitely wasn’t about performing. The team did manage to enlist 16-year-old America’s Got Talent star Jackie Evancho (probably because she can’t vote and doesn’t follow politics — at least that’s the slack we’re giving her).
Trump’s team denies offering ambassadorships (read: shady). Spokesman Boris Epshteyn said tons of top talent want to perform.
“There is no truth to this insinuation. First-class entertainers are eager to participate in the inaugural events. The inauguration as a whole will be an exciting and uniting celebration of freedom and democracy. We will be releasing further details at the appropriate time,” he said.
Yeah, okay. So who do you have besides a 16-year-old reality star? Please, let us know.
Despite Epshteyn’s claim, one of the talent agents contacted says that there was no way they weren’t offering an ambassadorship. It was a very clear conversation, and though he helped secure talent for past inaugurations, he “didn’t like what was going on” with Trump’s team and declined.
“My first thought was, ‘Are you joking?'” he said. “But no, it was serious.”
A second insider, who’s a talent manager, said he was outright offered a government post (including an ambassadorship) if he could deliver A-listers. He said he was offered “access to the administration” and also knew of two other people that were offered the same deal.
“[Trump’s team] said they were in the process of ‘figuring out posts, ambassadorships and commissions’ if that was of any interest,” the manager dished.
He declined the offer and didn’t ask which ambassadorships Trump’s team were talking about specifically. Both of the insiders wished to remain anonymous, but said they supported Hillary Clinton in the election.
As shady as it sounds, rewarding campaign donors, fundraisers and loyal supporters with ambassadorships is pretty common. In fact, the American Foreign Service Association said that more than 40 percent of the people Obama nominated for ambassadorships were political — not career — diplomats. In past administrations, NPR reports that about 30 percent of ambassadors are people who have financially backed or helped fund-raise for the administration.
Still, giving ambassadorships to talent agents is pretty unusual, and it’s pretty scary policy. Why would you want an unqualified, inexperienced person to be at the forefront of diplomatic relations? If you’re a talent agent, why would you even want that responsibility other than it’s probably a whole lot easier to travel internationally. Wouldn’t you rather be booking your acts than having to deal with government business? Answer is, yeah, and that’s why it totally didn’t work.
The moral of the story is that Trump can’t even bribe people to play his inauguration. LOL. Have you tried Green Day, Mr. Tiny Hands?
