How Toby Keith Defended His Donald Trump Controversy

After the news broke that Toby Keith had died of stomach cancer at age 62, it quickly became evident that the country singer will forever be remembered just as much for his political views as his music. On X, formerly known as Twitter, some Donald Trump supporters saluted Keith for performing at the former president's inauguration when Trump was apparently struggling to find talent willing to do so. "When other music stars were too afraid, Toby Keith proudly sang at President Trump's Inauguration!" read one tweet.

Others recalled some of the "Beer for My Horses" singer's political controversies prior to the MAGA movement, such as his treatment of the band The Chicks during the pre-Tea Party era. The band's former name, Dixie Chicks, even trended on X in the wake of Keith's death. The feud began in 2002 when The Chicks' Natalie Maines slammed Keith's song inspired by the 9/11 terrorist attacks, "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)." Keith responded by performing in front of a digitally altered image of Maines with Saddam Hussein. This further inflamed the wrath of Americans who were already upset with The Chicks for criticizing then-president George W. Bush. 

Keith later expressed something like regret over his actions, telling reporters in 2003 (via CMT), "I'll learn something next time ... Maybe." However, he wasn't regretful about offering Trump an assist.

Toby Keith catered to a nationalistic crowd with songs such as "Made in America" and "American Soldier," so he seemed like the ideal performer for the inauguration of a Republican president who appealed to the same group. But when explaining why he agreed to sing for Donald Trump, Keith didn't exactly sing his praises. Instead, he made sure to point out that it wouldn't be his first political rodeo. "I don't apologize for performing for our country or military," he told Entertainment Weekly. "I performed at events for previous presidents [George W.] Bush and [Barack] Obama and over 200 shows in Iraq and Afghanistan for the USO." A few months later, Keith was invited to sing at a male-only event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, when Trump was visiting the city. Per The Hill, Trump and King Salman briefly watched the concert while rolling through the venue in a golf cart.

As reported by Rolling Stone, Trump awarded Keith with a National Medal of the Arts in January 2021. This was after the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol — and Keith just happened to get his medal on the same date that Trump got impeached for his actions during the attack.

For the record, Keith told CMT that he was switching his party affiliation from Democrat to Independent in 2008. He revealed that he liked Sarah Palin and thought the left was being too hard on the then-VP hopeful.