The derailment of Donald Trump's plans to mark America's 250th birthday is reportedly causing recriminations among his staff, with a warning that 'firings are coming'. The debacle concerns the Great American State Fair, scheduled to run in Washington D.C. from June 25 until July 10.
As part of the celebrations, nine musicians were supposed to perform at a series of free concerts. However, half a dozen of them, including bigger names like Bret Michaels, Young MC and Martina McBride, recently withdrew. Several said they were misled about the event's nature; they thought it would be an apolitical celebration of the United States, only to later discover they would essentially be taking part in a partisan, pro-MAGA event organised by Mr Trump's own nonprofit organisation. The White House disputes that characterisation.
Trump's reaction
The mass withdrawals put Mr Trump in something of a huff. Taking to social media, he declared the performers he'd previously invited were 'boring', 'overpaid', 'third rate' and 'do nothing but complain', and suggested he would replace the concerts with one of his political rallies, turning himself into the headline act. 'Cancel it,' he wrote. 'I am ordering my representatives to look at the feasibility of doing an AMERICA IS BACK rally. Same time, same location. Only Great Patriots invited.' Mr Trump described himself as 'the number one attraction anywhere in the world', and 'the man who gets much larger audiences than Elvis in his prime'.
Internal strife
Behind the scenes, the staff in charge of organising the event have apparently had their confidence rocked. A White House source told The Daily Mail the mood among Mr Trump's staff was one of 'a circular firing squad'. 'Allowing Z-list celebrities to embarrass the President like this, in a world where actual celebrities like Jason Aldean and Nicki Minaj actually support him, isn't just embarrassing, it's grossly negligent, and firings are coming,' the source said. Mr Aldean is a country singer. Ms Minaj, a rapper, was formerly quite critical of Mr Trump's immigration policies, but has recently taken to calling herself his 'number one fan'. (Cynics have suggested Ms Minaj is cosying up to Mr Trump in the hope that he'll use his power as President to pardon her husband, who was convicted of attempted rape in 1994. Mr Trump's people have repeatedly said that she's not requested one.) 'It's a circular firing squad over there. Some artists hadn't even been contractually locked down before the announcements were made,' the source added.
Another of The Mail's sources, this one 'familiar with the planning' of the event, described the withdrawing artists as 'irrelevant'. 'They have been irrelevant for years, and my theory is that they just wanted their 15 minutes of fame. It was a publicity stunt,' said the source. 'We'll get the money back. We could force them to play. We've already paid them, they are under contract. But it's not worth it.'
Artists claim they were misled
The catalyst for the deluge of withdrawals was a May 27 Instagram post from the event's organisers, in which they shared the apparent lineup of musicians. Singer Morris Day was the first to announce that he would not be involved. 'It's a no for me,' he said. Young MC followed soon afterwards. 'I have informed my agent I will not be performing at the Freedom 250 event,' he wrote on Facebook. 'The artists were never told about any political involvement with the event.' He said he would gladly perform at future events that are 'not so politically charged'. 'I had no clue it was considered a Trump-backed event,' the rapper later told Rolling Stone. 'My whole thing was, tell me what the event is, what it's about, who you are, and then give me the choice of whether I want to do the event or not. I was never given that choice. I was told one thing and then it was a bait-and-switch.'
Mr Michaels also accused the organisers of deception, adding that his reported participation had led to 'unforgivable' threats. 'When this opportunity was originally presented to my team, it was described as a celebration of our country through music and a chance to honour our veterans, active military, first responders, teachers and hardworking Americans from all walks of life,' he said on Instagram. 'Unfortunately what was presented to us as a celebration of our country has evolved into something much more divisive than what I agreed to be a part of. Concerns have also been raised regarding the safety of my fans, band, crew, family and myself, including threats that are completely unfounded and unforgivable. Because of that, I have made the difficult decision to step away from this performance.'
Ms McBride said she had been 'presented with an opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event but that turned out to be misleading'. The Commodores stressed that they have always chosen 'not to publicly affiliate with any single political party'.
