Nelly also spoke about his experience as a child on a military base in Texas, praising his family members who have served in the U.S. armed forces. “If these people can give [their] life for the office, Nelly can perform,” he said. “It is an honor for me to perform for the president of the United States, regardless of who is in office.”

Rapper Nelly faces backlash for performing at President Trump's second-term inauguration, defending his decision as respect for the presidency, not politics, amid criticism for coinciding with Martin Luther King Jr.