A children’s choir that was interrupted by Capitol Police when singing the national anthem in the U.S. Capitol last month will get a chance to offer their rendition to a much bigger crowd: namely, the crowd at one of Donald Trump’s upcoming rallies.
In a video released to social media on Tuesday, Trump said he was inviting the Rushingbrook Children’s Choir of Greenville, South Carolina, to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” at one of his rallies in the Palmetto State.
The choir made news after footage of the group being interrupted by Capitol Police went viral earlier in the month.
Rushingbrook Children’s Choir were singing the National Anthem in the Capitol and were stopped by Capitol police.
They were told that “certain Capitol police said it might offend someone/cause issues.”
The National Anthem sung by children is not offensive, it’s needed more. pic.twitter.com/PvSMJdw5EZ
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene?? (@RepMTG) June 2, 2023
According to the Daily Signal, the Capitol Police denied that they stopped the May 26 performance because it might offend someone, instead saying that “[d]emonstrations and musical performances are not allowed in the U.S. Capitol.
“Of course, because the singers in this situation were children, our officers were reasonable and allowed the children to finish their beautiful rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner,” the Capitol Police claimed in its statement.
“The Congressional staff member who was accompanying the group knew the rules, yet lied to the officers multiple times about having permission from various offices. The staffer put both the choir and our officers, who were simply doing their jobs, in an awkward and embarrassing position.”
Micah Rea, founder of the children’s choir, called the statement “a bald-faced lie” and said three representatives — Reps. William Timmons and Joe Wilson of South Carolina and House Speaker Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California — had provided them with documents allowing the choir to perform.
Furthermore, the video clearly showed that — unlike the Capitol Police’s statement claims — the rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” was interrupted.
Whatever the case, they’ll get a chance to complete it in front of a much larger audience — with the former president as the guest (and campaigner) of honor.
President Trump invites the Rushingbrook Children’s Choir to sing the National Anthem at his upcoming South Carolina rally. https://t.co/2jGgswiUxq pic.twitter.com/Runjip8TGA
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) June 6, 2023
“I just wanted to say hello and pay my respects to a very talented group of people, the Rushingbrook Children’s Choir,” Trump said in the video, released Tuesday.
“I heard about what happened at the Capitol, and that’s a shame, it’s really a serious thing to have an event like that — such a beautiful time in your lives … to be interrupted in such a way.”
Trump went on to say that “we are going to have you in South Carolina, and you’re going to sing at a rally for us in front of tens of thousands of people.
“And we’re all going to have a great time together; we love our country, we’re going to take care of our country, and we’re going to pay respect to those people that love it.”
“Thank you for loving America,” he added.
Needless to say, this got rave reviews on social media:
That’s My President#Trump2024
??❤️??— Cecilia M. Levi ? (@CecibatMelej) June 6, 2023
Thank you Mr. President SIR ? God bless you ?✝️ and God bless America ????⚖️ @realDonaldTrump
— Caius Postumius Turrinus (@cptrealroman) June 7, 2023
??❤️??
— Garry Dulgar (@GarryDulgar) June 6, 2023
Not only is it a cool gesture, let’s face it: It’s a canny move for an early primary state that might pose a problem for Trump.
Two of his declared competitors for the nomination — former governor and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Sen. Tim Scott — are both from South Carolina.
Given the recent stumbles of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, thought to be the shoo-in for the top Trump challenger, Scott has looked more plausibly like a serious candidate. Thus, having a South Carolina-based choir that got interrupted while performing in the Capitol to sing the national anthem at an event in his home state is an excellent way to score points with South Carolinians.
And this time, there’s going to be no one around to stop them on the grounds that they were offended.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
