In advance of his historic Madison Square Garden performances, Elvis Presley made himself available for a press conference. The year was 1972 and Vietnam continued to divide the nation. A reporter asked Elvis, a veteran, about his views on Vietnam protesters and asked if he would refuse his draft orders.
“Honey, I just … keep my own personal views to myself because I am just an entertainer and I would rather not say,” Elvis said. The reporter followed up by asking if other entertainers should do the same, and Elvis refused to even say that much.
Lady Gaga should be taking notes. As she prepares to entertain one of the largest viewing audiences in the world, speculation looms large that she may use the halftime show as a political platform. An avid supporter of Hillary Clinton, President Trump is likely in Gaga’s crosshairs.
Whether Gaga gets political is not a First Amendment issue, it’s a common sense issue. Let’s be honest, Lady Gaga was invited to perform at Super Bowl LI because she is an entertainer. Her political views did not get her the invite — her vocal chords did.
If she wants to lecture Trump or blast his policies, she has every right to do so. She can hold an event, press conference or beg to be booked on MSNBC. Odds are, however, she would never attract the number of viewers that she will have watching her on Sunday night.
The question is, is she willing to co-opt football so she can have her say at the expense of the viewers? This is not political activism by any stretch. Ask most people and they’ll say it is just plain rude and selfish.
But as we have witnessed in the months since Clinton’s defeat, protesters think bashing Trump justifies any foul behavior.
“Her fans would feel betrayed if she didn’t seize this moment in some way,” Billboard Senior Editor Jem Aswad told the Daily News. “I would be surprised if she didn’t do anything. The question is what she’s going to do and how extreme it is or isn’t going to be.”
If the National Football League were smart, they would pull the plug or publicly threaten to cut the mic if Lady Gaga goes off script. After a season in which viewership declined and highly paid athletes dishonored the national anthem, can the NFL really afford to end the season with Lady Gaga’s political antics?
Lady Gaga has an opportunity to show she is a lady. Her disdain for Trump is well known. Should she decide to just entertain, she would earn much respect and make a much bigger statement than some over-the-top typical liberal nonsense would. By not pushing her agenda at their game, she would show football fans that she has respect for them. She would also show the nation that Trump foes can take a break from bashing him to enjoy a national pastime meant to bring people together.
But if Lady Gaga can’t help herself, the only remedy will be for Trump’s friends Tom Brady and Robert Kraft of the New England Patriots to clean up the NFL’s mess by taking home the Lombardi trophy. They can Make Football Great Again.
Joseph Murray (@realJoeMurray) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. Previously, he was a campaign official for Pat Buchanan. He is the author of “Odd Man Out” and is administrator of the LGBTrump Facebook page.
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