Make ’em laugh! After an emotional opening number featuring a special appearance by country legend Randy Travis, CMA Awards hosts Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley turned the audience’s tears into laughter with a lighthearted but topical intro poking fun at the ongoing 2016 presidential election. Watch their comical routine in the clip above!
The “Church Bells” singer, 33, and the “Without a Fight” crooner, 44 — who are cohosting the annual show for the ninth time — kicked things off with a little ditty about how tired they are of the political rat race before then spoofing candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
As Underwood pointed out the Entertainer of the Year nominees in the crowd, Paisley lurked behind her at the mic, interjecting, “False!” and “Lies!” à la Trump at the debates. When it came time for him to announce his cohost’s name as one of the nominees, he encouraged people watching at home to tweet, “#ImWithCarrie,” a reference to Clinton’s “#ImWithHer” catchphrase.
He doubled down on the Trump jokes as they continued their monologue, spoofing the Republican nominee’s repeated claims that the election is rigged.
“The people need to know: Will you accept tonight’s results?” Underwood asked.
“Yes. If I win,” he replied, quoting something Trump said on the campaign trail. When the American Idol alum pointed out that he wasn’t even nominated, he fired back: “Then no. And you’re a nasty woman.”
The two also had some fun at Clinton’s expense, mocking the controversy over the Democratic nominee’s comment that Trump’s supporters are a “basket of deplorables.” In Underwood and Paisley’s case, however, the “basket of deplorables” was a basket of items such as ammo, beer goggles, Willie Nelson’s potted meat and Tim McGraw and Faith Hill Barbies, which the cohosts used to stage a little “Let’s Make Love” parody.
“Let’s make love / On this bus / I want to feel your plastic touch,” they crooned to each other’s dolls.
Tell Us: What did you think of Underwood and Paisley’s opening bit?
