Trump replaced 7 canceling artists at the US 250th birthday concert with himself

Seven of nine acts dropped out of Freedom 250's Great American State Fair lineup within 48 hours of it being announced — most saying they'd been assured the event was nonpartisan and discovered it wasn't. Trump responded by mocking the artists on Truth Social for having "the yips" and volunteering himself as the replacement headliner, which Freedom 250 confirmed within hours. The story of America's 250th birthday concert series is now, inescapably, a story about whether it was ever anything other than a Trump rally with a patriotic paint job.