Freedom 250 concerts making way for ‘rally to end all rallies,’ Donald Trump says

U.S. president says plug was pulled on Great American State Fair concert series after performers backed out

Published Jun 04, 2026  •  Last updated 23 minutes ago  •  3 minute read

Construction for Freedom 250's Great American State Fair on the National Mall is seen from the Washington Monument on May 29, 2026, in Washington, D.C. Photo by Heather Diehl /Getty Images

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The Great American State Fair concert series is apparently giving way to the “rally to end all rallies.”

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U.S. President Donald Trump said on social media Thursday evening that the planned concert series to commemorate the country’s 250th birthday in late June and early July was being axed in favour of what he called the “greatest rally ever” that will be “special at every level.

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“We don’t want singers with no talent, but big fees to put you to sleep, we’ve told them all to stay home,” Trump said on his Truth Social account, seemingly referring to a concert series put together by the Freedom 250 organization that quickly lost most of its performers over partisan concerns about the event.

“All we want is you, me, a few speakers, and the Greatest Music ever played, the same Music you have listened to for years!”

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Concerns over original event’s partisan nature

The new plans for the event, which Trump had previously suggested could be replaced with a MAGA rally, will instead include country crooner Lee Greenwood singing God Bless the USA, which is a staple at the President’s rallies.

Trump also promised appearances by American tenor Christopher Macchio, U.S. military bands and “all of your favorite Hits, PLUS a fine and highly dignified gentleman known as, President DONALD J. TRUMP!”

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The news came after artists who were booked for the original concert series quickly backed out over concerns that an event that was supposed to be non-partisan was going to be anything but that.

The concerts were scheduled to kick off on June 25 on the National Mall and were being organized by Freedom 250, a Trump-backed public-private entity, according to AFP.

Vanilla Ice performs during halftime between the Chicago Bears and the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on December 16, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Photo by David Berding /Getty Images

Performers backed out within days

Six of the nine performers – Martina McBride, Poison frontman Bret Michaels, Morris Day and the Time, Young MC, the Commodores and Milli Vanilli – had backed out within days of the event being announced last week.

Only two other performers have been steadfast in appearing – 1990s rapper Vanilla Ice and C+C Music Factory’s Freedom Williams – while the third, rapper Flo Rida, had been tight-lipped about his participation.

Vanilla Ice, whose real name is Robert Van Winkle, told CBS News that he would “play for anybody” – including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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“It’s simple as a pimple for me, there’s nothing to it,” he said. “It’s the birthday of America. Two hundred and fifty years.

“It’s not anything to do with politics. I don’t know why they’re turning it into politics.”

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Fiery response from another performer

Williams, meanwhile, fired back at critics in a social media rant filmed on his toilet, essentially saying he needs the money and he would vote for “Genghis Khan, Hitler and motherf—ing Ivan the Terrible before I let you … tell me what to motherf—ing do.”

Flo Rida had offered little in the way of a response when Rolling Stone magazine tried to track him down for a comment via his management team and booking agent. So they instead turned to his chat bot, FloGPT, to ask if he was performing at the event.

The response, according to Rolling Stone, which noted that the emphasis at the end was added: “The Great American State Fair concert series, organized by Freedom 250, is known for featuring a diverse lineup of artists. However, there is no confirmed information about Flo Rida performing at this event.”

It all seems like a moot point now.

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