{"id":557580,"date":"2026-06-27T22:51:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T22:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/557580\/"},"modified":"2026-06-27T22:51:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T22:51:15","slug":"vanilla-ices-show-at-donald-trumps-troubled-freedom-250-fair-rained-off-at-last-minute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/557580\/","title":{"rendered":"Vanilla Ice’s show at Donald Trump’s troubled Freedom 250 fair rained off at last minute"},"content":{"rendered":"

Vanilla Ice<\/a>\u2019s headline set at\u00a0Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s Freedom 250 State Fair was cancelled less than two hours before he was due on stage.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0\u2018Ice\u00a0Ice\u00a0Baby\u2019\u00a0rapper \u2013 real name Robert Van Winkle \u2013 had been due to perform as part of\u00a0the\u00a0troubled\u00a0\u00a0\u2018I Love The 90s!\u2019 concert at the National Mall<\/a>\u00a0in Washington, D.C. on Friday (June 26), but Freedom 250 announced\u00a0in the late afternoon\u00a0that the fair would be closed for the rest of the day \u201cdue to inclement weather\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe safety of our guests, staff, and partners remains our top priority,\u201d the organisation wrote on X, adding that it was \u201cactively monitoring conditions\u201d and that the fair would reopen at 10am the following day.<\/p>\n

The cancellation came just hours after Vanilla Ice had posted from the National Mall, calling the show a \u201conce in a lifetime\u201d moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re about to have a great party tonight,\u201d he said in a video from the site. \u201cThis is\u00a0gonna\u00a0be epic.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u26a0\ufe0f Due to inclement weather in the area, the Freedom 250 Great American State Fair and FIFA World Cup 2026\u2122 Fan Zone will be closed for the rest of the day \u2014 Friday, June 26, 2026. <\/p>\n

The safety of our guests, staff, and partners remains our top priority. We are actively\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 Freedom 250 (@Freedom250) June 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Great American State Fair is part of Freedom 250, the Trump-backed organisation set up to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence. The Freedom 250 concert series has been dogged by controversy, however, since it was announced last month, with a number of\u00a0acts distancing\u00a0themselves from the event<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Vanilla Ice was among the last remaining performers attached to the \u2018I Love The 90s!\u2019 line-up. Morris Day & The Time denied that they would be taking part shortly after the line-up was announced, while The Commodores, Young MC, Bret Michaels and Martina McBride were among those who later pulled out.<\/p>\n

Young MC said the artists \u201cwere never told about any political involvement with the event\u201d when they were booked, while McBride said she had been presented with the chance to perform at a \u201cnonpartisan event\u201d that \u201cturned out to be misleading\u201d.<\/p>\n

Vanilla Ice, however,\u00a0defended his decision to remain on the bill earlier this month<\/a>, saying he did not see the show as political.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s simple as a pimple for me, there\u2019s nothing to it,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s the birthday of America. Two hundred and fifty years. It\u2019s not anything to do with politics. I don\u2019t know why they\u2019re turning it into politics.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also said he would perform for anyone, adding: \u201cPutin. Whoever. You want \u2014\u00a0I\u2019d\u00a0go to Iran.\u00a0Don\u2019t\u00a0matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump stepped in for a rally at the opening event on Wednesday (June 24), after much of the original concert line-up had fallen away. Opera singer Christopher Macchio also performed Leonard Cohen<\/a>\u2019s \u2018Hallelujah\u2019,\u00a0despite the late singer\u2019s estate objecting to the use of the song<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Leonard Cohen Estate has learned that the song \u2018Hallelujah\u2019 is to be performed at a Donald Trump rally on June 24,\u201d a statement posted to Cohen\u2019s official social media read before the event. \u201cThis use is not authorized, and the Estate does not support or approve of this or any similar usage.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Great American State\u00a0Fair\u00a0is scheduled to continue until July 10.<\/p>\n