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US President Donald Trump dances on stage during a tour of the al-Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar on May 15, 2025.
(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
As Most Acts Bail, Trump Floats Replacing Freedom 250 Shows With 'Number One Attraction Anywhere'—Himself
Trump called himself "the man who gets much larger audiences than Elvis in his prime," and "the man who some say is the Greatest President in History (THE GOAT)!"
May 31, 2026
As an increasing number of artists cancel their scheduled performances at the "Great American State Fair" created by the Trump administration to celebrate the US semiquincentennial, President Donald Trump on Saturday called for scrapping the concerts and replacing them with a rally headlined by himself.
"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," Trump wrote on his Truth Social network. "Cancel it, just like I canceled my involvement with the failing and unsafe to be in Kennedy Center, because a Highly Conflicted, Crooked Federal Judge, said that I should not be allowed to spend my time and money in order to MAKE THE CENTER GREAT AGAIN, actually, far greater than it ever was before!"
"I understand Artists are getting 'the yips' having to do with their performance on Wednesday," the president said in an earlier Truth post on Saturday, "so I am thinking about bringing the Number One Attraction anywhere in the World, the man who gets much larger audiences than Elvis in his prime, and he does so without a guitar, the man who loves our Country more than anyone else, and the man who some say is the Greatest President in History (THE GOAT!), DONALD J. TRUMP, to take the place of these highly paid, Third Rate 'Artists,' and give a major speech, rallying the Country forward like I have done ever since being President!"
"I don’t want so-called 'Artists' that get paid far too much money, who aren’t happy," he wrote. "So, by copy of this TRUTH, 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. Only Great Patriots invited—It will be a Wild and Beautiful Celebration of America!"
Artists who have bailed on the concerts, also known as the Freedom 250 shows, include Young MC, The Commodores, Morris Day and The Time, Bret Michaels, and Martina McBride. Some of the musicians said they were misled about the partisan nature of the event.
“I was presented with an opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event, but that turned out to be misleading,” McBride—a four-time winner of the Country Music Association female artist of the year award—wrote in an Instagram post. “I asked lots of questions and was assured this was a nonpartisan event that was meant to celebrate ALL 50 states.”
Remaining in the lineup as of Saturday are Vanilla Ice and Flo Rida, while C+C Music Factory and Milli Vanilli have given mixed signals.
The cancellations are a major embarrassment for Trump. Prior to the cancellations, the event was already being mocked for what the Daily Beast's Cameron Adams described as a “lack of A-list musical talent."
Comedian Bill Maher was among those mocking Trump for the Freedom 250 disaster.
“That’s got to hurt a lot when you can’t close the deal with Milli Vanilli," Maher said Friday on his Real Time show on HBO.
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As an increasing number of artists cancel their scheduled performances at the "Great American State Fair" created by the Trump administration to celebrate the US semiquincentennial, President Donald Trump on Saturday called for scrapping the concerts and replacing them with a rally headlined by himself.
"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," Trump wrote on his Truth Social network. "Cancel it, just like I canceled my involvement with the failing and unsafe to be in Kennedy Center, because a Highly Conflicted, Crooked Federal Judge, said that I should not be allowed to spend my time and money in order to MAKE THE CENTER GREAT AGAIN, actually, far greater than it ever was before!"
"I understand Artists are getting 'the yips' having to do with their performance on Wednesday," the president said in an earlier Truth post on Saturday, "so I am thinking about bringing the Number One Attraction anywhere in the World, the man who gets much larger audiences than Elvis in his prime, and he does so without a guitar, the man who loves our Country more than anyone else, and the man who some say is the Greatest President in History (THE GOAT!), DONALD J. TRUMP, to take the place of these highly paid, Third Rate 'Artists,' and give a major speech, rallying the Country forward like I have done ever since being President!"
"I don’t want so-called 'Artists' that get paid far too much money, who aren’t happy," he wrote. "So, by copy of this TRUTH, 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. Only Great Patriots invited—It will be a Wild and Beautiful Celebration of America!"
Artists who have bailed on the concerts, also known as the Freedom 250 shows, include Young MC, The Commodores, Morris Day and The Time, Bret Michaels, and Martina McBride. Some of the musicians said they were misled about the partisan nature of the event.
“I was presented with an opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event, but that turned out to be misleading,” McBride—a four-time winner of the Country Music Association female artist of the year award—wrote in an Instagram post. “I asked lots of questions and was assured this was a nonpartisan event that was meant to celebrate ALL 50 states.”
Remaining in the lineup as of Saturday are Vanilla Ice and Flo Rida, while C+C Music Factory and Milli Vanilli have given mixed signals.
The cancellations are a major embarrassment for Trump. Prior to the cancellations, the event was already being mocked for what the Daily Beast's Cameron Adams described as a “lack of A-list musical talent."
Comedian Bill Maher was among those mocking Trump for the Freedom 250 disaster.
“That’s got to hurt a lot when you can’t close the deal with Milli Vanilli," Maher said Friday on his Real Time show on HBO.
From Your Site Articles
As an increasing number of artists cancel their scheduled performances at the "Great American State Fair" created by the Trump administration to celebrate the US semiquincentennial, President Donald Trump on Saturday called for scrapping the concerts and replacing them with a rally headlined by himself.
"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," Trump wrote on his Truth Social network. "Cancel it, just like I canceled my involvement with the failing and unsafe to be in Kennedy Center, because a Highly Conflicted, Crooked Federal Judge, said that I should not be allowed to spend my time and money in order to MAKE THE CENTER GREAT AGAIN, actually, far greater than it ever was before!"
"I understand Artists are getting 'the yips' having to do with their performance on Wednesday," the president said in an earlier Truth post on Saturday, "so I am thinking about bringing the Number One Attraction anywhere in the World, the man who gets much larger audiences than Elvis in his prime, and he does so without a guitar, the man who loves our Country more than anyone else, and the man who some say is the Greatest President in History (THE GOAT!), DONALD J. TRUMP, to take the place of these highly paid, Third Rate 'Artists,' and give a major speech, rallying the Country forward like I have done ever since being President!"
"I don’t want so-called 'Artists' that get paid far too much money, who aren’t happy," he wrote. "So, by copy of this TRUTH, 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. Only Great Patriots invited—It will be a Wild and Beautiful Celebration of America!"
Artists who have bailed on the concerts, also known as the Freedom 250 shows, include Young MC, The Commodores, Morris Day and The Time, Bret Michaels, and Martina McBride. Some of the musicians said they were misled about the partisan nature of the event.
“I was presented with an opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event, but that turned out to be misleading,” McBride—a four-time winner of the Country Music Association female artist of the year award—wrote in an Instagram post. “I asked lots of questions and was assured this was a nonpartisan event that was meant to celebrate ALL 50 states.”
Remaining in the lineup as of Saturday are Vanilla Ice and Flo Rida, while C+C Music Factory and Milli Vanilli have given mixed signals.
The cancellations are a major embarrassment for Trump. Prior to the cancellations, the event was already being mocked for what the Daily Beast's Cameron Adams described as a “lack of A-list musical talent."
Comedian Bill Maher was among those mocking Trump for the Freedom 250 disaster.
“That’s got to hurt a lot when you can’t close the deal with Milli Vanilli," Maher said Friday on his Real Time show on HBO.
From Your Site Articles
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