US President Donald Trump on Saturday called for a revamp of an upcoming concert event after numerous artist cancellations. He said he was the person best suited to replace the musicians, boasting that only he could draw larger audiences than the late icon Elvis Presley.
The summer concert was meant to be a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States. Several musical guests recently backed out of the event, dubbed “The Great American State Fair,” partly over its ties to Trump.
The Great American State Fair is a 16-day event running from June 25 to July 10, 2026, with concert stages, state pavilions, exhibits, rides, and other attractions.
“I understand Artists are getting ‘the yips’ having to do with their performance,” Trump said in a long message on his Truth Social platform. With his characteristic capitalization misakes, he went on to call himself the “Number One Attraction anywhere in the World” and the musicians who backed out “highly paid, Third Rate ‘Artists.’
Organizers of the event, which is expected to take place on Washington’s National Mall, reacted to the president’s comments in a statement saying they were “excited to announce that President Trump will personally kick off this historic celebration on Wednesday, June 24.”
The concert series is the latest in a slew of events and celebrations that the White House has planned for this year’s 250th anniversary, which include an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fight on White House grounds in June.
Why did the artists back out?
Trump’s announcement comes a day after multiple performers said they would no longer be a part of the White House-backed event.
These included country singer Martina McBride and glam rocker Bret Michaels, frontman of 1980s band Poison.
“Unfortunately, what was presented to us as a celebration of our country has evolved into something much more divisive than what I agreed to be a part of,” Michaels posted on Facebook. “Concerns have also been raised regarding the safety of my fans, band, crew, family and myself, including threats that are completely unfounded and unforgivable.”
Although the event has been billed as nonpartisan, it was launched last year by Trump and is led by a former State Department appointee from his first term as president.
McBride said in a statement on Instagram that she had been “presented with an opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event but that turned out to be misleading.”
Among the other artists who dropped out are Grammy Award-winning rapper Young MC and Funk and soul band the Commodores.
Young MC said artists “were never told about any political involvement with the event,” while the Commodores said the band has chosen to not “publicly affiliate with any single party.”
The remaining artists who still plan to attend include rapper Flo Rida, Fab Morvan of Milli Vanilli and rapper Vanilla Ice, who posted an Instagram video saying the concert was meant to “bring us all together” and “not a political platform.”
He added that he was “super honored to do this concert.”
Edited by: Sean Sinico