Joy Behar Questions How Carrie Underwood Could “Love” America If She’s Performing for Trump [WATCH]

Co-host of ABC’s “The View” Joy Behar recently reacted to the news that country music legend Carrie Underwood would perform at President-elect Donald Trump’s highly anticipated inauguration next week.  Following a statement from Underwood about her upcoming performance explaining that she loved America, Behar questioned how that could be true, claiming Trump would “destroy” the country.

As background, Underwood said in a recent statement to PEOPLE, “I love our country and am honored to have been asked to sing at the Inauguration and to be a small part of this historic event.”  Calling for unity, she added, “I am humbled to answer the call at a time when we must all come together in the spirit of unity and looking to the future.”

However, Behar reacted critically to these remarks from the country superstar. “She says ‘I love our country.’ How do you love your country and support and normalize somebody who was a convicted felon who really wants to destroy the country, in my opinion? I don’t understand how you say you love your country at the same time that you normalize this convicted felon,” the co-host said.

Furthermore, Behar claimed she would personally not perform at Trump’s inauguration. “I would not be the person to say don’t do it, because I believe in free speech and everything about it. I personally would not do it. No one’s asked me, but that’s another story,” she continued. However, co-host Sunny Hostin seemed to respect Underwood’s decision, stating “I think art is art, and, you know, you have a right to perform where you want to perform.”

“I agree with you, I can’t sing a lick and I have not been asked, but if I were asked, it would be a hard no,” she also noted.  Echoing this sentiment, co-host Whoopi Goldberg indicated that she respected Underwood’s choice to sing for the incoming president. “People do what they do for whatever reasons. It’s like Joe and Mika. They felt that’s what they needed to do and I got to stand behind them, you know and I stand behind her,” she said, referring to MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski’s move to meet with Trump at Mar-a-Lago after the election.

Underwood is set to perform alongside other stars, including Lee Greenwood and the Village People.  The founder of the Village People, Victor Willis, recently released a statement announcing the group’s performance at the inauguration, undeterred by the inevitable backlash they will face from leftists.”TO VILLAGE PEOPLE FANS AND THE MEDIA. We are announcing today that VILLAGE PEOPLE have accepted an invitation from President Elect Trump’s campaign to participate in inaugural activities, including at least one event with President Elect Trump,” Willis wrote on Facebook.

He continued, “We know this wont make some of you happy to hear however we believe that music is to be performed without regard to politics. Our song Y.M.C.A. is a global anthem that hopefully helps bring the country together after a tumultuous and divided campaign where our preferred candidate lost. Therefore, we believe it’s now time to bring the country together with music which is why VILLAGE PEOPLE will be performing at various events as part of the 2025 Inauguration of Donald J. Trump.”

Watch Behar’s statement about Underwood on “The View” below:

Note:  The featured image is a screenshot from the embedded video.