Despite ‘Famous’ friendship, Trump team hasn’t asked Kanye to perform

Tom Barrack, President-elect Donald Trump’s longtime friend and the chair of his Presidential Inaugural Committee, said that the team has not asked rapper Kanye West to perform at the inauguration – despite having had a high-profile meeting with Trump last month.

“We haven’t asked him,” he told CNN’s Erin Burnett on “OutFront.” “He considers himself a friend of the President-elect, but it’s not the venue. The venue we have for entertainment is filled out, it’s perfect, it’s going to be typically and traditionally American, and Kanye is a great guy but we just haven’t asked him to perform. We move on with our agenda.”

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Trump snubs inauguration announcer

01:23 - Source: CNN

Last month, sources told CNN the transition team was struggling to book big names for the inauguration. Boris Epshteyn, an inaugural committee spokesman, also noted the lack of A-listers appearing at the ceremony.

“This is not Woodstock,” Epshteyn said. “It’s not summer jam. It’s not a concert.”

Congresswoman explains why she’s skipping Trump inauguration

The committee has since booked Toby Keith, The Rockettes, The Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Jackie Evancho, to perform for the inaugural ceremonies.

Donald Trump is sworn in as the 45th president of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts. Trump is joined by his wife, Melania, and his five children: from right, Tiffany, Eric, Ivanka, Donald Jr. and Barron. See a panoramic Gigapixel from his inauguration

Barack Obama takes the oath of office in 2009. His wife, Michelle, is holding the Bible, and they are joined by their daughters, Malia and Sasha. An estimated 1.5 million people attended the inauguration as Obama became the nation's first African-American president.

George W. Bush takes the oath of office from Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist in 2001. Standing with Bush, from left, are daughter Jenna, wife Laura and daughter Barbara. Bush, the eldest son of former President George H.W. Bush, served two terms.

Bill Clinton addresses the crowd at the US Capitol after being inaugurated in 1993. He was re-elected in 1996.

President George H.W. Bush, left, shakes the hand of his son George W. Bush after being sworn in to office in 1989. The elder Bush had been vice president under President Ronald Reagan, whose two terms were up.

President Ronald Reagan delivers his inaugural address at the US Capitol in 1981. As the ceremony was being held, Iran was releasing 52 American hostages.

Jimmy Carter is joined by his wife, Rosalynn, as he takes the oath of office in 1977. He was the first president to walk from the Capitol to the White House in the post-inauguration parade.

Gerald Ford takes the oath in 1974 next to his wife, Betty. He became president in August of that year after Richard Nixon resigned because of the Watergate scandal.

Richard Nixon delivers his inaugural address in 1969. He was re-elected in 1972 but resigned two years after that.

Lyndon B. Johnson takes the oath of office aboard Air Force One after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in November 1963. Standing on the right is Kennedy's widow, Jackie.

John F. Kennedy is sworn in by Chief Justice Earl Warren in 1961. Kennedy, at 43, was the youngest ever to be elected president. This was the first inauguration ceremony to be televised in color.

A crowd watches the inauguration ceremony of Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. Eisenhower, who served two terms, recited his own prayer after taking the oath of office.

Harry S. Truman holds the Bible as he takes the oath of office in 1945. Standing beside him are his wife, Bess, and his daughter, Margaret. Truman was the vice president under Franklin D. Roosevelt, who died in office. Truman won re-election in 1948.

Franklin D. Roosevelt is sworn in for his first term in 1933. He won four presidential elections and served in office until his death in 1945. The 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951, ensured that he would be the last US president to serve more than two terms.

People attend the inauguration of Herbert Hoover in 1929. Later that year, a stock market crash led to the Great Depression.

Calvin Coolidge takes the oath of office in Plymouth, Vermont, in August 1923. President Warren G. Harding had just died, and Coolidge was vice president. Coolidge's father, John, administered the oath. He was a notary public.

President Warren G. Harding waves to the crowd from the US Capitol's east portico in 1921. It was the first inauguration where an automobile was used to transport the president-elect to the Capitol.

Woodrow Wilson gives his inaugural speech in 1913. Wilson broke with tradition and did not host any inaugural balls.

William Howard Taft stands on the inaugural platform after taking the oath of office in 1909. His inauguration was held indoors because of a blizzard the day before.

Theodore Roosevelt takes the oath of office in 1901. He was vice president to William McKinley, who died in office. Roosevelt, a distant cousin of future President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was the youngest president in history at 42 years of age. He was re-elected in 1904.

William McKinley delivers his inaugural address in 1897. His inauguration was the first to be recorded on a movie camera. He died in office shortly after being re-elected in 1900.

This engraved illustration of Benjamin Harrison's inauguration appeared on the cover of Harper's Weekly in 1889. It was raining during the ceremony.

Grover Cleveland was the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms. He was inaugurated in 1885 (seen here) and 1893.

Chester A. Arthur became the nation's 21st president after the death of James A. Garfield. There have been eight times in US history when a vice president has assumed the presidency because the president died in office.

President James A. Garfield views the inauguration ceremonies in 1881. He was the first to watch the parade from a stand built in front of White House.

Chief Justice Morrison R. Waite administers the oath of office to Rutherford B. Hayes. The usual inauguration day back then, March 4, fell on a Sunday in 1877. So the public ceremony was held on a Monday.

Ulysses S. Grant takes the oath of office in front of a large crowd in 1869. Grant, the former Army general who helped the Union win the Civil War, served two terms.

After the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, Vice President Andrew Johnson assumed the presidency in a Washington hotel in 1865.

Abraham Lincoln gives his inaugural address in 1861. The nation was on the brink of the Civil War, so Lincoln was heavily protected during his procession to the Capitol.

The 1857 inauguration of James Buchanan was the first inauguration ceremony known to be photographed.

Military units precede Franklin Pierce's carriage down Pennsylvania Avenue during his inauguration day parade in 1853. Pierce broke the tradition of kissing the Bible during the swearing-in ceremony. He placed his left hand on it instead.

Millard Fillmore, seen here, became president after Zachary Taylor's death in 1850.

Zachary Taylor delivers his inaugural speech on the steps of the Capitol in 1849.

People gather for the inauguration of James K. Polk in 1845. It was the first inauguration ceremony to be reported by telegraph and shown in a newspaper illustration.

John Tyler, seen here, took the oath of office after the 1841 death of William Henry Harrison. Harrison died after just 32 days in office.

This lithograph shows the inauguration of William Henry Harrison in 1841. Harrison delivered the longest inaugural address in history (about 8,500 words). He caught a cold and died from pneumonia a month later.

Martin Van Buren was inaugurated in 1837. For the first time in history, the president-elect and the outgoing president rode to the inauguration together.

Andrew Jackson was inaugurated at the US Capitol in 1829. He was re-elected in 1833.

John Quincy Adams, son of former President John Adams, was inaugurated in 1825. He is one of only three presidents who did not use a Bible at his inauguration. He opted for a volume of law. Theodore Roosevelt used no Bible or book at his first inauguration in 1901. Lyndon B. Johnson used John F. Kennedy's Roman Catholic Missal during his hastily arranged swearing-in aboard Air Force One.

James Monroe's inauguration in 1817 was the first time that the swearing-in ceremony was held outside. The Capitol building was still under repair from its damage in the War of 1812.

James Madison, the fourth US president, was inaugurated in 1809 and was the first to hold an inaugural ball to celebrate.

Thomas Jefferson arrives on horseback for his inauguration in 1801. It was the first one held at the US Capitol.

John Adams, the second US president, took the oath of office at the House Chamber Congress Hall in Philadelphia.

George Washington delivers his inaugural address at New York's Federal Hall in April 1789. It was 13 years after the Declaration of Independence and more than a year and a half after the Constitution was ratified.

Presidential inaugurations since 1789

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Barrack added he was “disappointed” that more than two dozen Democratic lawmakers are boycotting Trump’s inauguration.

“Of course I’m disappointed because I think adults should play well in the sandbox,” he said. “This is the President of the United States. This is not a joke. And it’s not a political event. It’s a tribute to America. I wish all of them would get off of it and grow up and support the President that they have.”

He added: “On the other hand, I love it. Because only in America could you do this. Only in American could a group of congressmen … say, ‘I’m not going to go because I don’t like your policies.’”