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\n\tAlthough he did not provide much context for these statements or name names, Trump was clearly alluding to the wave of artists dropping out of the \u201cFreedom 250\u201d series, with more than half of the nine scheduled acts having exited<\/a> since the concerts were first announced Wednesday.<\/p>\n \n\tIn his Truth Social statement, Trump continued, \u201cTwo years ago, the United States was DEAD. Now we have the \u2018HOTTEST\u2019 Country anywhere in the World. I don\u2019t want so-called \u2018Artists\u2019 that get paid far too much money, who aren\u2019t happy. I only want to be surrounded by Happy People, Smart People, Successful People, and People that know how to WIN. So, by copy of this TRUTH, I am ordering my Representatives to look at the feasibility of doing an AMERICA IS BACK Rally on Wednesday, Washington, D.C., same time, same location. Only Great Patriots invited \u2014 It will be a Wild and Beautiful Celebration of America!\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe president\u2019s statement was confusing on first blush, with no clear reference to which \u201cWednesday\u201d he meant. That was cleared up when the Washington Post reached a Freedom 250 rep to explain<\/a> what the president had in mind, and when. In a story with the headline \u201cTrump to headline Great American State Fair after music acts cancel,\u201d the Post reported that Trump planned to headline an event on Wednesday, June 24.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cAs the visionary behind the Great American State Fair,\u201d said Danielle Alvarez, an adviser to Freedom 250, \u201cwe are excited to announce that President Trump will personally kick off this historic celebration on Wednesday, June 24 in an opening ceremony celebrating America\u2019s 250th birthday.\u201d The Post also cited anonymous Trump advisers as saying they \u201cwere quickly working to make his suggestion of being the fair\u2019s opening act a reality.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIf Trump does make himself the main attraction at an event kicking off the series, and gives a speech in his typical fashion, it could serve to confirm the suspicions of the artists who pulled out that Forever 250 is not as wholly nonpartisan as originally advertised.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \n\tThe president\u2019s two Truth Social statements came in the wake of several days of headlines about artists pulling out of the Freedom 250 concert series, which was (and perhaps still is) set to take place June 25 through July 10. The sponsoring organization, Freedom 250, is a nonprofit Trump founded as a public-private partnership to host events celebrating the 250th anniversary of the nation\u2019s founding.<\/p>\n \n\tSome of Trump\u2019s associates have already been critical of the artists who dropped out of the concert series. Richard Grenell, who until recently served as the Trump-appointed head of the Kennedy Center, tweeted angry thoughts about country singer Martina McBride exiting the concert series, posting the message: \u201cYou\u2019ve always been a woke Lefty.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tFive out of nine artists announced for the concert series have pulled out after saying they were misled about aspects of the concerts or were concerned they had become divisive: Morris Day, Bret Michaels<\/a>, Martina McBride, Young MC and the Commodores. Only two of the nine have publicly committed to seeing the shows through, regardless of the controversy: Vanilla Ice and Milli Vanilli\u2019s Fab Morvan. Another artist, C&C Music Factory\u2019s Freedom Williams, said he was on the fence about proceeding, and Flo Rida has not publicly addressed the firestorm at all.<\/p>\n \n\tThe materials for Freedom 250 describe the events being put on before and after the nation\u2019s birthday as nonpartisan. Doubts about that have been expressed by Democratic congressmen and others who point out that Trump founded the organization as a seeming alternative to the America 250 initiative that was set up for Congress to produce the same types of events. A prayer rally recently held on the National Mall under the Freedom 250 banner was criticized for seeming more like a MAGA event than a truly bipartisan or ecumenical gathering.<\/p>\n \n\tThe concert series was announced Wednesday morning, and the artists listed faced immediate backlash from many of their fans, upset about what political signals they felt the musicians might be sending about aligning themselves with Trump. Within hours, Morris Day and the Time were the first to disassociate themselves, with Day posting that his listed appearance was only a \u201crumor.\u201d Young MC soon followed, saying he had been misled about the series being nonpartisan in nature. Then followed the Commodores, McBride and Michaels, who stressed that he had wanted to do the show to promote veterans awareness but was distressed that it had become \u201cdivisive.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n