When Carrie Underwood announced that she would be performing at President Donald Trump’s inauguration, many of her devoted fans were left reeling.

Was the 42-year-old country star showing support for the MAGA movement? Or was this just a publicity stunt due to her declining success in recent years?

According to insiders, the answer is neither. Carrie Underwood’s performance of ‘America the Beautiful’ on January 20 was actually motivated by a surprising reason – an ongoing feud with fellow country star Taylor Swift.

Insiders revealed that there had been tension between the two stars for years, with speculation that Underwood took the Trump inauguration opportunity as a way to get back at Swift. The source mentioned to the Daily Mail, “Some people close to Taylor think Carrie took the Trump inauguration gig to spite Taylor. They’ve had a little bad blood in the past and Taylor famously endorsed Kamala Harris.”

‘Some people in the industry do think this is Carrie’s way of marking her territory as ‘Miss Americana’ as her side of the political aisle won the election.’

To those who have been paying attention, it is not as far-fetched as it may sound.

When Carrie Underwood announced she would be performing at Donald Trump’s inauguration, many of her devoted listeners and 13.2 million Instagram followers were shocked

Swift and Underwood posed backstage during the 44th annual Academy Of Country Music Awards on April 5, 2009 in Las Vegas

According to an insider, ‘Carrie feels that Taylor truly sold out going from country to pop’ – and most of all, holds onto hints of jealousy’ 

Indeed, Underwood has seemed to have it in for her 35-year-old rival for quite some time.

Most recently, she appeared to come after Swift just days ago on American Idol – the TV talent show that Underwood won in 2005 and where she recently started as a judge – saying that a lackluster contestant had a ‘Taylor Swift-esque quality. She doesn’t have this giant vibrato, belty voice, but there’s something in there.’

It is understood that the disparaging comment did not go unnoticed. 

‘Carrie has been waiting for the moment to throw some subtle shade, but this was not that subtle,’ our insider said. ‘There was no reason to compare this girl to Taylor.’

For her part, a source close to Underwood says the feud is rooted in a belief that Swift abandoned the country genre for a more lucrative career in pop.

‘Carrie feels Taylor truly sold out going from country to pop,’ that insider said.

In 2006, one year after Underwood’s American Idol win, Swift released her debut album and – for a while – the pair were seen as sisters in the country cause. Though, of course, fans couldn’t help but compare them.

Country radio stations often dubbed Swift the ‘next Carrie Underwood.’

Perhaps the comparisons got to Underwood because, within a few years, she was taking swipes at Swift in public.

Taylor Swift, 35, and Underwood, 41, shot to fame at the same time and were both considered country sweethearts

In 2010, Underwood hinted at her Republican ties when she hosted the Country Music Awards and performed a number with Brad Paisley mocking the Affordable Care Act, which then-President Barack Obama had enacted to give Americans access to less expensive health insurance. The pair performed a musical skit making fun of long sign-up wait times. 

Cameras cut to Swift looking deeply uncomfortable in the audience.

In 2011, and again on country music’s biggest night, Underwood and company threw shade at Swift’s reputation for short-lived relationships. As part of a parody song, Paisley sang, ‘I’m going to love you forever,’ and Eric Stonestreet added, ‘Or 72 days… as long as Taylor Swift is with her current boyfriend.’ 

Underwood, who was standing and performing as part of the trio, looked amused. 

The following year Underwood was on stage with Paisley when they again went at Swift, this time saying: ‘The greatest trade of the year had to be the Kennedy family. They somehow traded Arnold Schwarzenegger for Taylor Swift.’

It was a reference to Swift’s reported recent breakup with Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s son Conor Kennedy.

When Paisley then asked, ‘Are they ever gonna get back together?’ Underwood responded, ‘Never, never, never. Never ever,’ citing Swift’s hit We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together. 

Later that year, Underwood addressed rumors of a rivalry in a radio interview.

‘I’m a little bit older than she is and I feel like our music is completely different and if anyone tries to make any comparisons they really haven’t listened to either one of us,’ she said. ‘She sings a little bit lighter sometimes and it’s just a difference in our brand of country.’

Then in November 2012, in a interview with The New York Times Magazine, it was Swift’s turn to return fire. 

Asked why CMA viewers didn’t get to see her reaction to Underwood’s on-stage jibe about Conor Kennedy, Swift said: ‘[the cameras] don’t pan to you if you’re not laughing.’

Swift accepted Breakthrough Video of the Year award for Tim McGraw from Underwood during happier times in their friendship 

Rumor has it that things then go so bad that the two women requested to be seated far away from each other at the 2013 Grammy Awards.

After the event, however, both women fell relatively quiet on the issue – and the feud had seemed to be put to rest. But in 2015, Underwood reignited the war once again.

Asked in a cover interview for People magazine whether she would like to have a girl ‘squad’ akin to the A-list clan of female friends Swift had famously established, Underwood responded: ‘I don’t even know squad. Like a posse? I have people I hang out with. My friends are normal people – one’s a baker and the other is a stay-at-home mom.’

Perhaps, as is so often the case in life, the two women’s inability to see eye to eye is rooted in politics. 

Swift’s sympathies for the Democratic Party are no secret; she endorsed Harris last year and President Joe Biden before her.

And while, in a 2019 Guardian interview, Underwood has claimed that she tries to ‘stay far out of politics if possible’, the southern and proudly Christian star has never denied that she has more conservative beliefs.

During the Covid pandemic, Underwood’s Canadian hockey player husband Mike Fisher shared a message in defense of football star Aaron Rodgers’s apparent anti-vaccine stance, writing on social media: ‘I believe in the freedom to choose what we put in our bodies and the freedom of conscience. I agree with [Rodgers] in that the science clearly shows the vaccinated spread covid at basically the same rate as the unvaccinated.’ 

Country radio stations often dubbed Taylor Swift (pictured here at the 2025 Grammy Awards) the ‘next Carrie Underwood’

In a 2019 Guardian interview, Carrie Underwood has claimed that she tries to ‘stay far out of politics if possible’, the southern and proudly Christian star has never denied that she has more conservative beliefs

Underwood seemed to show her support for her hubby, and perhaps his anti-vax beliefs, by liking the post. 

And then of course came her Trump inauguration performance in January this year, during which the backing music failed to come in and an unfazed Underwood sang acapella. It was celebrated as a triumph of professionalism among the new president’s supporters.

But despite the MAGA movement welcoming her with open arms, Underwood was apparently left fuming that she didn’t get the same level of adoration that Swift had received from liberal fans when she endorsed Harris – who didn’t even win the election.

Insiders are quick to point out that despite the decade-long feud, Underwood’s fame is nothing compared to Swift’s years of number one hits and legions of dedicated fans. 

Underwood has sold over 85 million records worldwide during her career, but one insider noted that Swift garners a similar number (some 81 million) of listeners on Spotify every month.

And when it comes to net worth, Swift of course dominates. She recently dethroned Rihanna as the world’s richest female musical artist with a reported net worth of $1.6 billion. Underwood has a more modest $120 million to her name.