President Trump on Saturday suggested holding an “America Is Back” rally in place of several high-profile musicians who backed out of performing at the Great American State Fair scheduled later this summer in the nation’s capital.
“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!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“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!” he continued.
Check it out:
AMERICA IS BACK Rally! pic.twitter.com/ZAowKERA12
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 30, 2026
Some of the musicians who backed out of performing include Poison frontman Bret Michaels, country singer Martina McBride, and R&B group The Commodores.
COPY CAT? “I was presented an opportunity to perform at a non-partisan event…”
More from the New York Post:
The 16-day string of concerts and events, set to run June 25 through July 10, is being organized by Freedom 250, the nonprofit created by the Trump administration to mark the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding.
The event features concerts, a salute to vets, and a MAHA Monday, for “Make America Healthy Again.”
Michaels cited security concerns for the band and fans, saying an intended celebration of the country and veterans “evolved into something much more divisive than what I agreed to be a part of.”
Nearly all of the acts bowed out in a matter of days following the official announcement on Wednesday.
Young MC also bowed out of a scheduled June 26 performance, as did Morris Day and The Time for a gig the following day as well as C+C Music Factory.
Still set to take part in the lineup is artist Vanilla Ice, who posted on Instagram about the “America 250 year birthday.”
"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. 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!" Trump said in another post.
"It would have also been nice to see a Republican/Democrat union bring it back to life. The Kennedy Center is broken, unsafe, and $busted, and has been for many years! Judge Cooper also stated that the highly prestigious Board of the Center was not authorized to add on the name 'TRUMP' despite the fact that hundreds of millions of dollars of my time and money will be necessary for its successful reincarnation," he continued.
"So now, the Kennedy Center will collapse, both structurally and financially. Judge Cooper and his wife, Amy Jeffress (obfuscation anyone?), should be ashamed of themselves. Judge Cooper, like numerous other Crooked Judges on my cases, should be IMPEACHED," he added.
Full post below:
NBC News shared further:
A person familiar with planning for the event said Trump was always expected to headline a July Fourth event at the fair, and now he’ll do the opening ceremony too.
Freedom 250, a public-private partnership backed by the Trump administration that is organizing events to celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday, last week announced a slate of artists that would perform on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays during this summer’s Great American State Fair.
Shortly after the lineup was announced, Morris Day and the Time, Young MC, Martina McBride, the Commodores and Bret Michaels each announced they were declining to participate, saying they did not know the event was political in nature. Freedom 250 has not announced replacement artists.
Freedom 250 officials denied that the event would be political, with a spokesperson telling NBC News on Friday that the group “is a nonpartisan organization singularly focused on celebrating America’s 250th anniversary and bringing Americans together around this historic milestone. From the outset, our work has reflected the unifying spirit of this moment.”
The event has fueled confusion about the two prominent national groups sponsoring events in Washington and around the country to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary: Freedom 250 and America250. One organization, America250, was created after Congress passed a law 10 years ago to create a group responsible for planning events to celebrate the semiquincentennial, while the other, Freedom 250, was created following one of Trump’s executive orders last year.
