The Country Music Association wanted Wednesday night’s awards to be a “politics-free zone,” but co-hosts Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley managed to get around the CMA’s “guidelines.”
“Now, Brad, I don’t know if you’ve heard about this, but the CMA has given us some guidelines with specific topics to avoid,” Underwood said in the pair’s opening monologue for the 51st awards, after saying, “this is a year marked by tragedy.”
“So we can’t be doing any of our silly little songs, because this year’s show is a politics-free zone,” she said, tossing air quotes around that last phrase.
Paisley lamented the rules, wishing to sing songs like “Way down Yonder on the Scaramucci” and “Hold Me Closer, Bernie Sanders.” Paisley then began strumming Underwood’s 2005 hit “Before He Cheats” and the two stars modified the lyrics a bit to befit a certain sitting president.
“Right now, he’s probably in his PJs watching cable news reaching for his cellphone,” the two sang. “Right now, he’s probably asking Siri ‘How in the hell do you spell Pocahontas?’”
Yep, you guessed right: The chorus goes “maybe next time he’ll think before he tweets.”
Watch the full video above.