President Trump appeared to suggest on Saturday that he was considering making himself the star of a concert series this summer celebrating the nation\u2019s 250th birthday, after a wave of musicians pulled out.<\/p>\n
Calling himself \u201cthe Number One Attraction anywhere in the World\u201d and \u201cthe man who gets much larger audiences than Elvis in his prime,\u201d Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social<\/a> that he should \u201ctake the place of these highly paid, Third Rate \u2018Artists.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Trump added that he was ordering \u201cmy Representatives\u201d to explore \u201cthe feasibility of doing an America Is Back rally,\u201d where he would \u201cgive a major speech, rallying the Country forward like I have done ever since being President!\u201d<\/p>\n There was some confusion surrounding whether Mr. Trump was, indeed, referring to the concerts planned as part of what is known as the Great American State Fair, a 16-day exposition on the National Mall starting in late June that is part of the celebration of America\u2019s 250th birthday. In his social media post, the president referred more than once to an event \u201con Wednesday.\u201d As it stands, the concerts are scheduled to take place across two Thursdays and Fridays and one Saturday.<\/p>\n But at least five musicians have dropped out<\/a> of the concert series since it was announced several days ago. Some of those artists said they had not been aware that the event was part of an initiative planned by the Trump administration for the nation\u2019s birthday.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want so-called \u2018Artists\u2019 that get paid far too much money, who aren\u2019t happy,\u201d Mr. Trump wrote in his Truth Social post on Saturday.<\/p>\n When asked for clarity, a White House spokesman referred to Mr. Trump\u2019s post on Truth Social.<\/p>\n Danielle Alvarez, a spokeswoman for Freedom 250, the group that is organizing the administration\u2019s events for the birthday celebration, said in a statement on Saturday that Mr. Trump would kick off the Great American State Fair on Wednesday, June 24, in an opening ceremony celebrating America\u2019s birthday. (The announcement regarding the concerts said they would begin on June 25.)<\/p>\n A senior administration official described the rollout of the concerts as \u201ca mess\u201d and suggested that someone would most likely be fired over how the invitations to the event were handled. The official was granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations.<\/p>\n After the lineup for the concerts was announced, the hip-hop artist Young MC said he would not perform, adding that \u201cartists were never told about any political involvement with the event.\u201d The funk-soul group the Commodores, the rock musician Bret Michaels and Morris Day and the Time<\/a> also canceled performances.<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, what was presented to us as a celebration of our country has evolved into something much more divisive than what I agreed to be part of,\u201d Mr. Michaels, the frontman of the rock group Poison, wrote on social media<\/a>.<\/p>\n The country singer Martina McBride, who also said she would not participate in the event, wrote on social media<\/a> that she had been presented with an opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event, \u201cbut that turned out to be misleading.\u201d<\/p>\n One scheduled performer, the rapper Vanilla Ice, has confirmed that he will participate in the event, writing on Instagram<\/a> that it would be a party bringing everyone together.<\/p>\n