dueling 250th – A multi-day festival planned for Washington’s National Mall was supposed to unite the country for America’s 250th birthday. Instead, dueling commemorations—America 250, founded by Congress in 2016, and Freedom 250, created by President Donald Trump by executiv
By the time the Freedom 250 Great American State Fair lineup started clearing out, the problem wasn’t scheduling—it was trust.
The multi-day festival planned for the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was announced as part of next month’s commemorations for the 250th anniversary of America’s founding. But nearly the entire lineup dropped out shortly after it was made public. Flo Rida and Vanilla Ice remained.
President Donald Trump suggested he would headline the festival himself by holding a rally, then posted on social media Saturday that it should just be canceled.
For artists who walked away, the anger was pointed and personal. Martina McBride and Bret Michaels said they felt misled—because the event was not nonpartisan as they had been told.
America 250 Freedom 250 Donald Trump National Mall festival Martina McBride Bret Michaels Flo Rida Vanilla Ice US 250th anniversary executive order Congress 2016 taxpayer funding Amtrak Acela Train
So it’s basically canceled? Typical.
I don’t get why they can’t just do one big thing for the 250th. Martina McBride sounded mad, like they bait and switched her. Meanwhile Flo Rida and Vanilla Ice are still there… so who even decided this whole mess?
Wait, I thought Freedom 250 was the one from Congress too? Like it all blends together. Also Amtrak Acela Train?? why is that in the article lol. If Trump said cancel, then just cancel and be done, but artists leaving doesn’t mean it’s “misleading,” it’s just politics.
Freedom 250 and America 250 colliding sounds like something we should’ve seen coming, I mean come on. They said it was supposed to be nonpartisan and then it turned into Trump world, so yeah people are gonna drop. But I’m also like… why only Flo Rida and Vanilla Ice stuck around? Is that because their contracts were already paid by taxpayers? Also the National Mall being “unite the country” is a joke if half the acts walk.