Topline
President Donald Trump on Monday said he’d host “the most spectacular TRUMP RALLY of them all” at the Lincoln Memorial on July 4 and a separate “kick off” celebration for summer events celebrating the country’s 250th anniversary as a planned concert series in Washington D.C. faltered amid performer cancellations.
Donald Trump takes the stage during a campaign rally on Aug. 30, 2024.
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Key Facts
Trump said the July 4 rally will include performances from military bands and include music from his personal playlist—”We will have none of those people that put you to sleep and constantly complain!” he said—flyovers and “keynote remarks that you will not want to miss.”
He said the event will include the “LARGEST FIREWORKS SHOW IN HISTORY.”
Freedom 250, the group Trump created to organize the administration’s 250th initiative separate from the bipartisan nonprofit America250, was already planning a July 4 celebration on the mall including Washington D.C.’s usual Independence Day Parade, military demonstrations, performances and fireworks.
Trump on Monday also confirmed plans for a “kick off” celebration for the Great American State Fair concert series with Christopher Macchio and Lee Greenwood on June 24, after most artists dropped out of the two-week event citing concerns it would be a partisan affair.
Young MC, Martina McBride, the Commodores, Morris Day and Bret Michaels, all of whom were scheduled to perform on the National Mall between June 25 and July 10 for the series planned by a Trump-backed group, said they wouldn’t perform after it became clear the event was more political than nonpartisan.
CRUCIAL QUOTE
“The artists were never told about any political involvement with the event,” rapper Young MC said.
CONTRA
Some artists haven’t backed out of their planned performances for the Great American State Fair. Rapper Flo Rida hasn’t spoken about it—other than to post a series of laughing emojis in response to a commenter who asked, “Performing for Trump? Why??”—and Vanilla Ice said he still plans to perform: “I’ll go play for Putin, and I’ll play in Iran if you want,” he said in an interview with TMZ. “It don’t matter.”
Key background
Trump’s Freedom 250 group started promoting the Great American State Fair last year as one of its signature events for the semiquincentennial celebration. The festival is set to run from June 25 to July 10 in Washington D.C. and has been billed as a modern, nationwide version of a World’s Fair, bringing together all 50 states and U.S. territories. In recent weeks, critics have said what was presented as a nonpartisan celebration has become closely tied to Trump and the MAGA movement, leading to the cancellation of performances and refusal from some states to participate. The original plan was to have one pavilion or exhibit area highlighting each state and territory, but at least eight states (Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Maine, Oregon, Washington, and Pennsylvania) have said they won’t participate. Several states cited the cost as a limiting factor—Gov. Maura Healy, D-Mass., said Trump’s administration “wants to charge us” for the event—and others offered no explanation for skipping out. Freedom 250 has still promised every state “will be celebrated.”