Trump Slams ‘Third Rate Artists’ Dropping Out of D.C. Performances, Says He May Produce Different Event Starring Someone With a ‘Much Larger Audience Than Elvis’… Himself

President Donald J. Trump issued a social media statement Saturday in which he seemed to be taking issue with “third rate artists” dropping out of government-sponsored “Freedom 250” appearances in Washington, D.C., suggesting that he is looking at instead producing a different patriotic event that will have as its primary performer a star “who gets much larger audiences than Elvis”… Donald J. Trump.

The president wrote: “I understand Artists are getting ‘the yips’ having to do with their performance on Wednesday, 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!”

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In the context of the news of the last few days, Trump was clearly alluding to the wave of music artists dropping out of the “Freedom 250” series, with more than half of the nine scheduled acts having exited since the concerts were first announced Wednesday.

In his Truth Social statement, Trump continued, “Two years ago, the United States was DEAD. Now we have the ‘HOTTEST’ Country anywhere in the World. I don’t want so-called ‘Artists’ that get paid far too much money, who aren’t happy. I only want to be surrounded by Happy People, Smart People, Successful People, and People that know how to WIN. 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, D.C., same time, same location. Only Great Patriots invited — It will be a Wild and Beautiful Celebration of America!”

The president’s statement was confusing on first blush, since he repeatedly refers to “Wednesday” as the date something could or would happen, without saying which date or week.

Thankfully for anyone seeking clarity, the Washington Post was able to explain exactly what the president has in mind, and when, after getting an exclusive statement from a Freedom 250 rep. In a story with the headline “Trump to headline Great American State Fair after music acts cancel,” the Post reported that Trump will headline an event on Wednesday, June 24.

“As the visionary behind the Great American State Fair,” said Danielle Alvarez, an adviser to Freedom 250, “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.” The Post also cited anonymous Trump advisers as saying they “were quickly working to make his suggestion of being the fair’s opening act a reality.”

If Trump does make himself the main attraction at an event kicking off the series, and gives a speech in his typical fashion, it could serve to confirm the suspicions of the artists who pulled out that Forever 250 is not as nonpartisan as originally advertised.

Although the president did not cite Freedom 250 or any of the artists by name in his Truth Social statement, it came in the wake of several days of headlines about artists pulling out of the Freedom 250 concert series, which was (and perhaps still is) set to take place June 25 through July 10. The sponsoring organization, Freedom 250, is a nonprofit Trump founded as a public-private partnership to host events celebrating the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding.

Some of Trump’s associates have already been critical of the artists who dropped out of the concert series. Richard Grenell, who until recently served as the Trump-appointed head of the Kennedy Center, tweeted angry thoughts about country singer Martina McBride exiting the concert series, posting the message: “You’ve always been a woke Lefty.”

Five out of nine artists announced for the concert series have pulled out after saying they were misled about aspects of the concerts or were concerned they had become divisive: Morris Day, Bret Michaels, Martina McBride, Young MC and the Commodores. Only two of the nine have publicly committed to seeing the shows through, regardless of the controversy: Vanilla Ice and Milli Vanilli’s Fab Morvan. Another artist, C&C Music Factory’s Freedom Williams, said he was on the fence about proceeding, and Flo Rida has not publicly addressed the firestorm at all.

The materials for Freedom 250 describe the events being put on before and after the nation’s birthday as nonpartisan. Doubts about that have been expressed by Democratic congressmen and others who point out that Trump founded the organization as a seeming alternative to the America 250 initiative that was set up for Congress to produce the same types of events. A prayer rally recently held on the National Mall under the Freedom 250 banner was criticized for seeming more like a MAGA event than a truly bipartisan or ecumenical gathering.

The concert series was announced Wednesday morning, and the artists listed faced immediate backlash from many of their fans, upset about what political signals they felt the musicians might be sending about aligning themselves with Trump. Within hours, Morris Day and the Time were the first to disassociate themselves, with Day posting that his listed appearance was only a “rumor.” Young MC soon followed, saying he had been misled about the series being nonpartisan in nature. Then followed the Commodores, McBride and Michaels, who stressed that he had wanted to do the show to promote veterans awareness but was distressed that it had become “divisive.”

But on Friday, Vanilla Ice declared he was in for the duration. ““I don’t even vote, so I don’t even care,” the rapper said in an interview with TMZ. “And I’ll go play for Putin and I’ll play in Iran if you want. It don’t matter,” he said.

If Trump does “headline” Freedom 250’s Great American State Fair, it will follow in the wake of another big event he has coming up — a UFC fight on the White House lawn taking place on his 80th birthday, June 14.