US President Donald Trump said musical performances celebrating the country’s 250th birthday on the National Mall should be canceled after multiple artists withdrew. Trump said on Truth Social that the event’s performers were “overpriced” and “boring” and announced he was looking into replacing the concert series with a political rally.
As of Sunday, only a few of the nine originally announced artists remained scheduled to perform for the Freedom 250 Great American State Fair. Four acts — country singer Martina McBride, The Commodores, hip-hop artist Young MC, and Poison frontman Bret Michaels — dropped out of the 16-day series planned between June 25 and July 10. McBride and Young MC cited undisclosed political ties as their reason for withdrawing. McBride said she was “presented with an opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event but that turned out to be misleading.”
Young MC said in a social media post that performers had not been told about any “political involvement with the event” and wrote that he looked forward to appearing in Washington for a future event that was “not so politically charged.”
Following the withdrawals, Trump said he heard artists were getting “the yips” and suggested an alternative event. “I am ordering my Representatives to look at the feasibility of doing an AMERICA IS BACK Rally on Wednesday, Washington, DC, same time, same location,” he wrote. “Only Great Patriots invited.” He described himself as the “Number One Attraction anywhere in the World” and said he “gets much larger audiences than Elvis in his prime.”
Trump later said he wanted to replace the fair entirely with a political rally. “We should have a giant MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN RALLY, for 250, instead of having overpriced singers, who nobody wants to hear, whose music is boring, and yet who do nothing but complain,” he said.
Two musical acts that have not withdrawn — Vanilla Ice and Flo Rida — remain scheduled to play. Fab Morvan, one half of the pop duo Milli Vanilli, also said he will appear as scheduled. “This is not a political platform,” Robert Matthew Van Winkle, known as Vanilla Ice, said in a video post on Instagram. “This is celebrating America’s birthday.” A statement on X from the voices behind Milli Vanilli’s music, however, said they will not be performing.
Freedom 250, the group organizing the fair, was established last year through a Trump executive order that created a task force for a “grand celebration worthy of the momentous occasion of the 250th anniversary of American Independence,” according to the White House. Trump appointed the group’s CEO. Freedom 250 says its events are non-partisan.
On Saturday, Freedom 250 spokesperson Danielle Alvarez said the president will headline the fair’s opening ceremony. “As the visionary behind the Great American State Fair, we are excited to announce that President Trump will personally kick off this historic celebration on Wednesday, June 24 in an opening ceremony celebrating America’s 250th birthday,” Alvarez said.
A separate bipartisan organization, America250, was created by Congress a decade ago to coordinate official anniversary commemoration events. That group has scheduled its own July 4 celebrations in New York City, Philadelphia and California, along with block parties nationwide. The White House is also backing other Freedom 250 events, including a UFC fight on the South Lawn of the White House and a Formula One Grand Prix in Washington this August. The US will additionally release a limited run of commemorative passports featuring a portrait of Trump.