A relatively-little known singer got the boost of a lifetime on Monday when he sang at Donald Trump’s inauguration.
The president, 78, tapped Christopher Macchio to perform the national anthem. Described on his website as “America’s tenor,” Macchio, 46, has a long history as a concert singer and almost as long of a history of supporting Trump.
The Long Island native didn’t consider a career as a singer until a teacher helped him realize how powerful his voice was, as he told CBS Sunday Mornings.
Instilled with a new-found confidence, he went on to study classical voice at Manhattan School of Music before making his professional debut in a PBS concert special. He soon performed on programs for Fox, NBC, ABC, and RAI International.
To date, he has also appeared as a guest singer in concerts with David Foster, appeared in two films (the mafia comedy “Don Q” and the faith-based biopic “Cabrini”) and released two albums — “Dolci Momenti (Sweet Moments)” and a Christmas LP, “O Holy Night.”
Macchio even performs semi-regularly at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center with Andy Cooney and Daniel Rodriguez as the New York Tenors.
His introduction to Trump occurred about a decade ago when another singer slated to perform at the former “Apprentice” host’s Mar-a-Lago New Year’s Eve party backed out at the last-minute, leading a member of the Florida club to suggest Macchio step in as a replacement. Trump flew Macchio down from New York and was wowed.
“He said, ‘Your voice is unbelievable, magnificent. I can’t tell who is better, you or Pavarotti,’” Macchio recalled to CBS News.
The tenor has also said that Trump’s late brother, Robert, was a “big, big fan” of his pipes (Trump chose Macchio to perform at Robert’s funeral).
With good reason, Macchio says he’s Trump’s “favorite singer.”
Macchio performed on the White House patio in 2020 after Trump accepted the Republican party’s nomination for president, headlined Trump HQ’s 2024 election night party, and sung at the president’s campaign stops, rallies and his Bedminster, New Jersey golf club.
“There is nobody with a voice like this man,” Trump says in Macchio’s sizzle reel.
Macchio is also firmly planted in the MAGA political firmament, as a quick perusal of his social media postings will attest. But as his social media profiles also show, he considers himself a “believer in the unifying power of beautiful music.”
“That is a primary goal of mine, to deliver a performance that can hopefully have that kind of effect and make people really proud to be a citizen of this great country,” he told CBS.
On Saturday, Macchio reacted to the ceremony being moved indoors due to the bitter temperatures in Washington, D.C. The Capitol Rotunda holds only 600 people, while more than 250,000 guests were ticketed to view the inauguration outside the Capitol grounds.
“I was looking forward to seeing 100,000 people spread across the National Mall,” he told the Associated Press. “Unfortunately I won’t be getting that visual while I perform, but it’s still going to be such a tremendous honor.”
