Trump considers replacing anniversary concert with MAGA rally
"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," Mr Trump posted on his...
A birthday celebration for America’s 250th anniversary has become a political flashpoint after US President Donald Trump urged organizers to scrap a planned concert series and replace it with a rally led by him.
“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,” Mr Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, adding: “Cancel it.”
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The call came after several performers withdrew soon after being announced for a Washington concert series tied to the 4 July holiday, with some saying the event had taken on an overtly political character.
The concerts were due to begin on 25 June as part of a large-scale National Mall celebration organised by Freedom 250, a Trump-backed public-private entity.
“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 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.'”
Mr Trump said he had directed aides to examine “the feasibility of doing an AMERICA IS BACK Rally” on the mall, where he said he would give a speech aimed at “rallying the Country forward like I have done ever since being President!”
On Friday, artists including country singer Martina McBride and glam rocker Bret Michaels, the frontman of 1980s band Poison, said they were leaving the concert line-up.
“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.
Mr Trump has made little secret of his desire to leave a personal imprint on the anniversary events, most notably by planning a mixed martial arts fight in a specially built arena on the White House lawn on 14 June – his 80th birthday.
The artists still listed to perform, including acts whose heyday passed decades ago such as Vanilla Ice and C+C Music Factory, have drawn a wave of mocking commentary across social media.
Read more:US judge orders removal of Trump’s name from Kennedy Center
