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Protest of Trump's Inauguration Underlines Uneasy Mood in America

C Tanti
/
Flickr
Jennifer Holliday declined an offer to sing at Trump's inauguration after she received backlash and death threats.

Jennifer Holliday has performed at the inaugurations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. When President-Elect Donald Trump's team reached out, asking her if she would perform at his inauguration Friday, she received a huge amount of backlash, including death threats. She canceled.

When asked on The View yesterday why she originally considered taking the gig, her answer was simple.

"Because I'm an artist and I love America..." Holliday said. "It didn't dawn on me that this was a bad thing and that we weren't doing 'America' right now. We're not doing 'America' right now."

Hans Hassell, assistant professor of political science at Cornell College, says the divisive nature of a Trump presidency hasn't lessened in the days leading up to his inauguration.

"We see an increase in polarization, and I think we're going to continue to see that going forward."

In this hour of River to River, host Ben Kieffer talks with Hassell and with Wayne Moyer, Rosenfield Professor of Political Science, about this week in political news.

Ben Kieffer is the host of IPR's River to River