Left-wing pop icon Barbra Streisand made her Madison Square Garden concert Saturday about politics, praising Bill Clinton — who was in attendance alongside Hillary — as “a great president,” explaining how badly she wanted to sing at Hillary’s inauguration, and targeting President Donald Trump with a remixed rendition of “Send in the Clowns.”
“He left this country with a budget surplus!” Barbra Streisand said of former President Clinton, adding, “By the way he did that by taxing the highest wage earners.”
“A great president needs a sense of history and unquenchable thirst for knowledge,” she continued. “And the compassion that would not allow children to be separated from their parents.”
New York Magazine Washington Correspondent Olivia Nuzzi gave a play-by-play of Streisand’s seemingly impromptu political moment during the concert. According to her tweets, the singer polled the crowd to find out if there were more Democrats or Republicans and proceeded to sing “a parody of Send in the Clowns about Trump.” The Trump supporters in attendance, Nuzzi said, were irritated and shouted “Just sing!”
It has been over a decade since the “Evergreen” singer performed on an arena stage and her’s in NYC was met with a flurry of high-profile attendees including Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Al Sharpton, and Bill and Hillary Clinton — all of whom she gave special shout-outs to.
Nuzzi’s play-by-play of Streisand’s political moments continued:
According to Variety, Streisand sang a politically charged rendition of “Send in the Clowns,” with its lyrics aimed at President Trump. Variety wrote:
About 45 minutes into her show, Streisand paused to salute the high-profile Democrats in the house, including former New York Mayor David Dinkins, Al Sharpton, Congressman Jerry Nadler and Bill and Hillary Clinton, her longtime friends. Streisand praised the 42nd President for balancing the budget and rescuing the economy during his eight years in office. “But being a great President is about more than just dollars and cents,” Streisand noted. “A great President needs a sense of history, and an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, and the compassion to not let children be separated from their parents.” It was her first dig at Trump, but it wouldn’t be the last.
Streisand then addressed Hillary: “Madam Secretary, you gave our allies confidence and our foes unambiguous clarity. You demonstrated that strength and kindness can exist in equal measure. And needless to say, three years ago, I was truly hoping to sing at your inauguration.”
Following an intermission, Streisand returned to the stage in a white Donna Karan dress, which she said had been made for her a few days earlier by the designer. She seemed more relaxed, hitting every note of the timeless bummer “Send in the Clowns.” Fittingly, she followed it up with a new version of the song, advising the (few) Republicans in attendance to cover their ears. While a picture of Trump as a clown was projected behind the stage, Streisand crooned:
He says he’s rich
Maybe he’s poor
‘Til he reveals his returns
Who can be sure
Who is this clown?Something’s amiss
I don’t approve
Now that he’s running the free world
Where can we move?
Maybe a town!
Just who is this clown?This is not a farce
It’s not just smoke
Is this his “Art of the Deal” or some awful joke?
You’ve got to admit
This fraudulent twit
Is so full of …
The Grammy winner has been a long-time advocate for Democrats and left-wing causes. Last month, she called for “climate change deniers” to be removed from office, “starting with Trump.”