How can you talk about the 2016 presidential election by still keeping it lighthearted? Just hire Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood. As always, the country music artists entertained the audience as cohosts for the Country Music Awards Wednesday night. This year marked the 50th anniversary of the awards show and they pulled out all the stops (and legends) to celebrate the impressive number. Dolly Parton was awarded with the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award, Alan Jackson sang with George Strait and Garth Brooks won Entertainer of the Year.
Yet, some of the most memorable moments came in the opening 15 minutes, when Brad and Carrie poked fun at the never-ending presidential campaign between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
In part of their opening monologue, the delightful duo (Brad and Carrie, I mean) announced they were distributing a "gift basket of deplorables" to the audience, which included hot items like beer goggles, Willie Nelson's pot-ted meat, and Faith Hill and Tim McGraw-inspired Barbie dolls.
Paisley also referred to his cohost as "Crooked Carrie" at one point and claimed it did not matter who won the night's most prestigious awards because the show was obviously "rigged."
Thank goodness for these two and their sense of humor.