Trump to – Organizers behind Freedom 250, an event on Washington’s National Mall marking the nation’s 250th anniversary, confirmed President Donald Trump will personally kick off the festivities after multiple musical guests backed out over the fair’s ties to him. Trump
WASHINGTON—The empty stage came first.
Several musical guests pulled out of “The Great American State Fair. ” a celebration planned on Washington’s National Mall as part of “Freedom 250. ” after they connected the event to President Donald Trump. Then, on Saturday, Trump himself moved toward the center of the spotlight. Organizers confirmed he will headline—saying the president will personally kick off the event.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he understood artists were getting “the yips” about performing. He also wrote that he was considering bringing “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.’”
Freedom 250 organizers, in a statement Saturday, confirmed the change to the lineup. “We are excited to announce that President Trump will personally kick off this historic celebration,” the group said.
Trump’s post referenced the event as being “Wednesday,” even though “The Great American State Fair” does not begin until June 25. The White House did not immediately clarify the discrepancy.
Danielle Alvarez, a spokesperson for Freedom 250, emphasized that the event is larger than the fair headline. She said the broader celebration—running through July 10—will include exhibits, family friendly attractions, musical performances, flyovers and more.
At the center of the tension is how the party is being framed. Freedom 250 is billed as nonpartisan, but the program was launched last year by Trump and is led by a former State Department appointee from Trump’s first term.
Artists who dropped out last week included Bret Michaels, the Commodores and Martina McBride. Michaels and other artists said they were misled about the theme of the shows or were wary of being pulled into a political fight.
Not everyone is stepping back. Other artists are expected to attend, including Flo Rida, Fab Morvan of Milli Vanilli and Vanilla Ice. Vanilla Ice’s representative previously said the “Ice Ice Baby” rapper was “proud to help celebrate America’s 250th Anniversary!”
For many of the artists who have stayed on. the stakes now shift from whether they’ll be associated with politics to whether they’ll appear alongside a president who has made the dispute part of the event’s public story—one post at a time. and under a timeline that still doesn’t match the date on the calendar.
Freedom 250 Great American State Fair Donald Trump artists drop out National Mall Washington DC Truth Social Bret Michaels Commodores Martina McBride Vanilla Ice Flo Rida Milli Vanilli