Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” has been a favorite of former President Donald J. Trump since he became leader of the Republican Party. He embraces its status as an anthem in Grand Old Party politics, which has existed for 40 years.
For Mr. Greenwood, a Grammy Award-winning country music star, it’s a match made in heaven. He sold the rights to the song for $1 in 1984, delighted that Sig Rogich, who created ads for former President Ronald Reagan, had said the campaign wanted to use it. More recently, it has been played to kick off dozens of Mr. Trump’s rallies, often to cheers and sing-alongs from the thousands in attendance.
But when Greenwood took the stage Monday night at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, minutes before Trump’s first public appearance since surviving an assassination attempt, the singer-songwriter, like the millions of Americans glued to their TVs, had no idea what to expect.
“All I could do was guess what his emotions might be, what his physical condition might be,” Mr. Greenwood said in an interview. “I was like everyone else in the arena watching the jumbotron, watching him walk down the hall.”
Mr. Greenwood, a self-described conservative, is both Mr. Trump’s personal friend and business partner. He spent time late Wednesday afternoon taking photos with adoring fans and signing wide-eyed supporters’ “God Bless the USA Bibles,” Trump-promoted volumes that feature lyrics to Mr. Greenwood’s song and foundational American documents. Mr. Greenwood said he was “naturally emotional” and shocked to learn that the former president would not delay his appearance at the convention after a bullet pierced his upper right ear Saturday at a rally in Butler, Pa.
That information came in a phone call the day after the shooting. Mr. Greenwood was told to make sure he was in Milwaukee by Monday morning — enough time to prepare for the live performance that Trump would accompany that evening at the convention venue, Fiserv Forum. When Mr. Greenwood began to sing, his voice competing with the cheers of the crowd eager to see the former president — his right ear wrapped in a white bandage as he walked to his VIP box, pumping his fist in the air and muttering “thank you” to his supporters — the two friends briefly made eye contact.
“We both felt the same way,” Mr. Greenwood said. “I wanted to pray for him at that moment. I think he was feeling exhausted from the fact that he had been shot and recovered. But his determination and defiance that he showed up at the RNC Monday night showed what a strength he is.”
Mr. Greenwood never intended the song to become the theme of a major political party. He prides himself on calling it a “military anthem.” He knew it would be immortalized in the psyche of millions of Americans when he sang it at various commemorations in the aftermath of 9/11.
“Game 4 of the World Series, with that red, white and blue jacket, that was the moment I think all of America began to embrace ‘God Bless the USA’ as something for unification and something very powerful,” he said, referring to his performance in 2001 at Yankee Stadium.
But in an era of deep political polarization and division, there are those who associate the song only with Mr. Trump and the Republican Party he has remade in his image, rather than with the unifying force Mr. Greenwood claims the song is.
However, Mr. Greenwood is confident that the song will transcend its Trumpist ties and once again be seen as an American anthem rather than a Republican anthem. He said he would personally make that happen.
How does he plan to do that?
“I’ll keep singing it,” he said.
