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Well, it’s official. U.S. President Donald Trump has cancelled the Freedom 250 concerts planned for the National Mall in Washington, D.C., after most of the original artists backed out.
Instead, for the June 24 event marking the U.S.’s 250th birthday, he’ll hold “the Greatest Rally, EVER! It will be special at every level – A Rally to end all Rallies!” according to a post on his Truth Social account.
His announcement comes nearly a week after threatening to end the Freedom 250 event.
The new iteration won’t be devoid of music, however.
Trump assured supporters that Lee Greenwood, a loyal Make America Great Again (MAGA) backer, would introduce him ”with what has turned out to be one of the Greatest Hits of All Time, GOD BLESS THE U.S.A.”
He said New York Tenors member Christopher Macchio would also be lending his operatic timbre to sing “Nessun Dora, Hallelujah, Ave Maria, God Bless America and others,” the post says.
“Not since the legendary Luciano Pavarotti has there been such a voice!”
Trump again took aim at the artists who, one by one, left his concert series high and dry over the past couple of weeks.
Most of them cited concerns over the partisan tone of the event as the reason for dropping out.
Those who joined the exodus include Poison frontman Bret Michaels, American country singer Martina McBride, Morris Day and the Time, the Commodores, rapper Young MC and, most recently, Milli Vanilli’s Fab Morvan, who told CNN “this is not what I signed up for.”
“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’s post said. “All we want is you, me, a few speakers, and the Greatest Music ever played, the same Music you have listened to for years!”
Vanilla Ice (Robert Van Winkle) and Flo Rida remained the only two acts, out of the nine originally scheduled, set to perform at the concerts organized by the Trump administration.
The Ice Ice Baby rapper previously made it clear he had no qualms about performing at the contentious event, telling CBS News he’d “go play for anybody,” including Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Hours after the series was cancelled, the rapper reportedly told Fox News he still hopes to be part of the rewritten event, saying “he’ll be there no matter what.”
Safe to say, there will be no chart-topping rap hits of yesteryear performed at this reinvented extravaganza, replaced instead by “the wonderful U.S. Army Band ‘Perishing’s Own’ and Armed Forces Choir, and ‘The President’s Own’ Unites [sic] States Marine Band, with the Joint Armed Forces Chorus,” the president wrote.
He promised performances of “all of your favourite hits,” ending the statement by saying the main attraction would be “a fine and highly dignified gentleman known as, President DONALD J. TRUMP!”
On its website, Freedom 250 says the anniversary event is about “celebrating the triumph of the American spirit.”
Other events and commemorations to mark the U.S.’s birthday have attracted criticism for glorifying Trump, including efforts to put his face on commemorative coins, his signature on bills and his face on a special passport.
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