John Rich Praises Carrie Underwood’s Trump’s Inauguration Performance, Calls Out Silent Conservative Country Artists
“It ain’t outlaw to sit around and keep your mouth shut.”

John Rich; Photo via X
John Rich is sharing his thoughts on Carrie Underwood’s upcoming performance at Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration and calling on other country artists to publicly support President Trump.
In a video shared to X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday afternoon, Rich publicly praised Underwood for agreeing to perform “America The Beautiful” at the inauguration, calling it “an incredible thing.”
“Her statement actually was absolutely beautiful, that we want to bring people together and we want to move into this next four years and succeed as a nation,” he said. “I mean, incredible. I’m a bigger fan than I ever was of Carrie Underwood after seeing her do that.”
The Big & Rich star, who has never shied away from sharing his political beliefs, went on to admit that Underwood’s upcoming performance got him thinking about “country artists that I know for a fact are real conservatives and support Trump that have yet to be heard from.”
In the video, he compared artists like Garth Brooks and Brad Paisley, who have come out in support of the democratic party, to conservative artists who remain silent.
“And I started wondering, well, why is it that Garth Brooks has enough conviction about Joe Biden, for instance, that he would sing at Joe Biden’s inauguration, that he would walk up and give Hillary Clinton a big old bear hug and stand out there and sing. Why is it that Brad Paisley will come to Nashville with Jill Biden and set up a Covid vaccine site and tell everybody to do their patriotic duty and show up and get your Covid vaccine and I’ll play you some music and the First Lady is here and come on down in here to Nashville,” Rich questioned.

While he admitted he doesn’t agree with them, Rich said, “At least they had enough conviction to step forward and make those moves” and wondered, “So where are the big time that are conservative in country music? Where are they now?”
According to Rich, he personally knows several conservative country artists who have not shared their thoughts and opinions with fans and he believes it’s important that they do so.
“I mean, Trump won the popular vote in a landslide victory. Every swing state went to Trump. What are you guys afraid of? Your record label? You’re too big to cancel guys. They cannot cancel you,” he urged. “If anything, if you step forward and speak your mind about what you truly believe and stand for, your crowd is going to get bigger. I bet if you ask Jason Aldean, ‘Hey, did your crowd get bigger after you started talking, after you started telling everybody how you felt about it?’ The answer is, yeah, crowd got bigger.”

Before the video cut off, Rich congratulated Paisley and Brooks for using their platforms to stand up for what they believe in, despite disagreeing with them.
“I just think the other side needs to be heard from as well,” he said in closing. ”So listen, if you’re a big country artist and you follow me, come on, come. It ain’t outlaw to sit around and keep your mouth shut. Alright? You can’t claim to love Johnny Cash and Kristofferson and Willie and Waylon, and Tanya and Loretta, and on and on, and say that you’re following in their footsteps when you keep your mouth shut.”
Carrie Underwood isn’t the only country artist taking part in the inauguration and the events surrounding it. Parker McCollum, Rascal Flatts, Jason Aldean, Kid Rock, Lee Greenwood, Billy Ray Cyrus, and more are also confirmed to perform.
Lauren Jo Black, a University of Central Florida graduate, has immersed herself in the world of country music for over 15 years. In 2008, she co-founded CountryMusicIsLove, eventually selling it to a major record label in 2015. Following the rebranding of the website to Sounds Like Nashville, Black served as Editor-in-Chief for two and a half years. Currently, she assumes the role of Editor-in-Chief at Country Now and oversees Country Now’s content and digital footprint. Her extensive experience also encompasses her previous role as a Country Music Expert Writer for Answers.com and her work being featured on Forbes.com. She’s been spotlighted among Country Aircheck’s Women of Influence and received the 2012 Rising Star Award from the University of Central Florida. Black also spent time in front of the camera as host of Country Now Live, which brought live music directly to fans in 2021 when the majority of concerts were halted due to the pandemic. During this time, she hosted 24 weeks of live concerts via Country Now Live on Twitch with special guests such as Lady A, Dierks Bentley, Jordan Davis, Brett Young, and Jon Pardi. Over the course of her career, she has had the privilege of conducting interviews with some of the industry’s most prominent stars, including Reba McEntire, Blake Shelton, Luke Combs, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson, and many others. Lauren Jo Black is a longtime member of the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.