A few weeks ago, famous country singer Lee Greenwood was thousands of miles away from the U.S. performing his hit “God Bless the USA” in Qatar for the troops. Greenwood will take the stage again in the nation’s capital this weekend for the Army’s big anniversary parade.
Then, he will probably find himself fulfilling his duties as a member of the Kennedy Center’s new board.
Perhaps Trump’s favorite performer, the president often uses Greenwood’s hit as his walkout song. In many cases, such as at the 2024 Republican National Convention, the musician is there to perform it personally. The Army’s 250th birthday celebration — also, coincidentally, Trump’s 79 birthday — will be no exception, Greenwood told the Daily Caller in an exclusive interview.
“My initiative over the past 20 or 30 years has been to take care of the military in various ways. And so, yes, I will be performing, and I will be in the parade, and I’ll be performing for the president,” Greenwood told the Caller, adding that he plans to give Trump his newly released “God Bless The USA Bible – The Presidential Edition” as a birthday gift.
Singer-songwriter Lee Greenwood performs during the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The upcoming performance at the military parade will be special for Greenwood. The Trump administration has been meticulously planning the $45 million parade, which is supposed to feature more than 6,600 soldiers, over 50 military aircraft, and roughly 150 military vehicles, including tanks, Humvees and other equipment.
“My dad was in the Navy, and joined the Navy right after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. So that was his war, and he survived World War Two. I didn’t know until about 17. So even though I did not serve in the military, I consider it a responsibility to honor those who have served,” Greenwood told the Caller.
Greenwood was recently awarded a two time platinum plaque during CMA Fest last week in Nashville for “God Bless The USA.” The song was released in 1992 (the same year Greenwood married his wife Kim) and at the time he was focused on singing country ballads. The future hit was just one of a few singles Greenwood released, but it didn’t immediately take off.
“In the early days, I don’t know that it really made much of a mark, but after the Gulf War and then the attack on America and many other things … have brought it to the forefront,” Greenwood told the Caller.
“And now singing with the President of the United States… every American understands what the song is, and it’s adapting to American way of life,” Greenwood explained.
Singer Lee Greenwood (C) performs alongside US President Donald Trump and US Vice President Mike Pence during a “Make America Great Again” campaign rally at McKenzie Arena, in Chattanooga, Tennessee on November 4, 2018. (Photo credit NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)
Greenwood hasn’t just been tasked with singing Trump’s walkout music. The president also appointed the country singer to the board of the Kennedy Center as part of his takeover of the facility. In the first month of his second administration, Trump said he would be leading the Kennedy Center board as chairman and then purged multiple board members appointed by former President Joe Biden.
Those ousted included former Biden press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and former senior advisor Mike Donilon. As part of his new vision for the Kennedy Center, Trump denounced the “anti-American propaganda” previously pushed at the performing arts center and said his takeover would ensure future performances are more aligned with his vision.
As a board member, Greenwood is a part of the committee for choosing the honors. As the Kennedy Center undergoes its Trump revival, Greenwood told the Caller that the board hopes they will have a diverse audience from all over the world. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Kennedy Center Breaks All-Time Attendance Record Amid Liberal Bellyaching Over ‘Trump Takeover’)
“The audience will be a cross section of America,” Greenwood explained. “We hope to have international participants as well. And the people in the audience, of course, will get a good cross section of what American culture is … as well as our approach to international culture. It’ll give you a good idea of the diversity and the tolerance that we will show for our audiences and in the presentation.”
Greenwood told the Caller he has performed all over the world, including some of the “finest places in Vegas” but the Kennedy Center is a “beautiful venue” that the new Trump-appointed team is working on restoring to its former glory.
“You may not see it upon the eye when you first walk in the door, but there’s a lot of places in the building that have been abused and really not done well. And I think that’s the main focus for the president, is to make this building, once again, the beautiful structure was intended to be,” the country singer told the Caller.
Greenwood stressed that the board, on behalf of the president, is excited to share the revamped Kennedy Center and that they hope to bring it more attention and fame than ever before.
“When people are attending shows, [Trump wants them] to have the best of a guest experience … so that you will begin to spread the word that the Kennedy Center is back, and in fact, one of the finest performing venues in the entire country,” he added.
