President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to “order” that he be the main act at his Freedom 250 celebration after two-thirds of the musical lineup dropped out.
“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,” Trump, 79, posted on Saturday.
The president then went on to reveal who the main attraction was, bizarrely writing about himself in the third person: “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.”
Though the 79-year-old president referred to an event taking place “on Wednesday,” he appeared to be referencing the Great American State Fair, a festival scheduled to run on the National Mall between June 25 and July 10.
Nine acts, including country star Martina McBride, rapper Young MC, and Poison frontman Bret Michaels, were announced this week as musical guests, but two-thirds have since canceled their appearances.
Trump billed his post as an official decree, saying that “by copy of this TRUTH” he was ordering his representatives to see if he can hold an “AMERICA IS BACK” rally in Washington, D.C., at the “same time, same location.”
“I don’t want so-called ‘Artists’ that get paid far too much money, who aren’t happy,” he wrote.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
Artists claim that the event was described to them as featuring performers as a non-partisan celebration of U.S. history, despite it being organized by the MAGA-backed Freedom 250 initiative.
“I was presented with an opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event, but that turned out to be misleading,” McBride wrote in an Instagram post on Thursday announcing her decision to pull out of performing.
Similarly, Michaels announced his decision in an Instagram post, noting: “My shows have never been about politics. They’re about giving people a place to come together.”
The other musicians slammed by Trump as “Third Rate Artists” included Young MC, Milli Vanilli, Morris Day and The Time, and The Commodores.
C+C Music Factory has yet to make a final decision about performing, but appears to be leaning toward doing so. Flo Rida had not commented on the controversy. It remains unclear whether the remaining performers will still appear following Trump’s announcement of his Wednesday rally.
“I only want to be surrounded by Happy People, Smart People, Successful People, and People that know how to WIN,” the president wrote about the atmosphere he expects at his new solo event, where he will be the only headliner, adding that “Only Great Patriots” will be invited.
“It will be a Wild and Beautiful Celebration of America!” Trump concluded.
An official White House account has re-posted Trump’s announcement on X, captioning it: “AMERICA IS BACK Rally!”
A spokesperson for Freedom 250 told CNN in a statement that the organization “remains fully committed to delivering a once-in-a-lifetime experience that brings every corner of this country together on the National Mall.”
