On Saturday, President Trump proposed organizing a grand MAGA rally to mark the nation’s 250th birthday, following the withdrawal of several artists from a summer concert event.
Trump, in an extensive post on Truth Social, recommended abandoning the Freedom 250 concerts scheduled as part of the Great American State Fair.
He also criticized a federal judge’s recent decision to remove his name from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
“Instead of hosting overpriced concerts with artists nobody wants to hear, let’s have a massive MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN rally for the 250th celebration,” Trump expressed.
He added, “Cancel the event, just like I withdrew from the struggling Kennedy Center. A biased federal judge ruled against my efforts to MAKE THE CENTER GREAT AGAIN, better than it ever was before!”
His statements followed the withdrawal of multiple performers from the Great American State Fair, a major national event slated to take place on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., extending from the US Capitol to the Washington Monument.
The event is scheduled to run from June 25 through July 10, 2026, as part of the nation’s America 250 celebration.
Earlier this week, Freedom 250 organizers released a list of performers slated to appear at the event, but several artists later withdrew, including Martina McBride, Bret Michaels, Young MC, Morris Day and The Time, and C+C Music Factory.
Other performers, including rapper Vanilla Ice, have said they are “honored” to participate.
In a separate social media post Saturday, Trump suggested he could replace the concert with a major speech after several artists got “the yips.”
“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.
Trump said he was considering delivering the speech and holding a rally June 24 to kick off the festivities.
“I don’t want so-called ‘Artists’ that get paid far too much money, who aren’t happy,” he wrote.
“I only want to be surrounded by Happy People, Smart People, Successful People, and People that know how to WIN.”
Freedom 250 later announced that Trump would, in fact, deliver a speech ahead of the Great American State Fair.
“As the visionary behind the Great American State Fair, 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,” Freedom 250 spokeswoman Danielle Alvarez wrote on X.
