Donald Trump’s inauguration might not be a raucous concert filled with performances by boldfaced names—but it will have a “soft sensuality,” according to inauguration planner Tom Barrack. On Tuesday, Barrack told reporters the president-elect doesn’t want a “circus-like celebration” for his big day. And when asked if he’s “satisfied” with the amount of performers secured for the event, Barrack replied that he’s actually “overwhelmed.”
“We’re fortunate in that we have the greatest celebrity in the world, which is the president-elect; side by side is the current president,” Barrack said, according to BuzzFeed. “So what we’ve done instead of trying to surround him with what people consider A-listers is we are going to surround him with the soft sensuality of the place. It’s a much more poetic cadence than having a circus-like celebration that’s a coronation. That’s the way this president-elect wanted it. I think it will be contributive. It will be beautiful. The cadence of it is going to be ‘let me get back to work.’ ”
It’s no secret that Trump has struggled to land celebrated mainstream artists for his inauguration. While previous inaugurations have included performances from artists like Beyoncé, Aretha Franklin, and Barbra Streisand, many A-listers have declined Trump’s inaugural offers (including Céline Dion and Elton John). Trump has claimed this makes no difference to him, tweeting in December that he was being inundated with requests from celebrities who wanted tickets to the inauguration. Trump’s assessment? “Look what they did for Hillary, NOTHING. I want the PEOPLE!”
Barrack’s comments on Tuesday echoed Trump’s tweet. The president-elect wants the inauguration to “be about the people, not about him,” he said.
“His instruction to me was the campaign is over, ‘I am not president for all the people. I want you to build a bridge and tie them back in. I was to heal the wounds and I want to get back to work on Saturday morning.’ ”
Trump is opting to keep the inauguration fairly traditional, particularly for the swearing in ceremony, according to Barrack (although it will be without longtime presenter Charles Brotman, the 89-year-old who was abruptly fired by Trump's team). He also said that Trump and his family would have coffee with President Obama and his family before the ceremony. In the meantime, we will be here, trying to decode what, exactly, he meant by the phrase “soft sensuality.”
