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Why Garth Brooks said no to the Trump inauguration

Garth Brooks has been getting some flack on social media in the past few days for not performing at President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration in Washington, D.C. Until he set the record straight on his weekly Facebook Live show, we had no way of knowing if Brooks had even been asked to perform at the inauguration, though.

It turns out Brooks was asked to perform at the inauguration by his good friend, casino mogul Steve Wynn, who is helping recruit talent for Trump’s big ceremony. A conflict in his tour schedule is going to keep Brooks in Cincinnati, Ohio, for inauguration weekend, though.

Brooks explained on Live from Studio G, “We left it up to karma. If Cincinnati goes two weekends instead of one, then of course we are out.”

Brooks ended up having three additional shows to play in Ohio at the same time as the inaugural festivities, but he is calling for Americans to come together in love and unity as they welcome a new president.

He added, “I’ll tell you with this whole presidential thing: We got one going out. Pray for him and his family. And for the president going in, pray for him and his family to guide this nation. Let’s stay together.”

This is the first time Brooks has revealed he was asked to perform at the inauguration. He did perform at the national Christmas tree lighting in Washington, D.C. during the holiday season, and a TMZ reporter asked him back then if we would perform at Trump’s inauguration.

Brooks explained, “They always stick a camera in your face — they go, ‘Hey man, what about the inauguration?’ And the response was, ‘It’s always an honor to serve.’ I wasn’t asked at that point.”

Brooks closed his comments on the matter saying, “We can’t thank the Obamas enough for serving this country. And may God hold Trump’s hand in the decisions that he makes in this country’s name as well.”

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Posted by Garth Brooks on Monday, January 16, 2017