Trump-Approved Performer Blindsided as MAGA Concert Derails

Politics admin June 5, 2026 0 Comments

Trump-Approved Performer Blindsided as MAGA Concert Derails

One-hit-wonder rapper Vanilla Ice has admitted he has no idea if the MAGA concert he has been booked for is still happening.

The 58-year-old rapper, real name Rob Van Winkle, is one of only three musical acts who have yet to cancel their appearances at the Trump-endorsed Great American State Fair.

The event, due to run between June 25 to July 10 at the National Mall in Washington D.C. as part of the celebration of the nation’s birthday, remains in limbo.

As soon as the fair was announced, artists began to pull out, claiming they had not been told of the event’s link to Trump before being booked. Headliners including Martina McBride, Milli Vanilli, The Commodores, Young MC and Poison singer Bret Michaels all quickly distanced themselves from the concerts.

An annoyed Trump then complained the artists who backed out had got the “yips,” suggested he could headline the event himself due to his ability to draw a bigger crowd than Elvis Presley at his peak, and then insisted his team “cancel” the entire fair.

On Thursday, Trump even announced a rival event, a rally taking place on June 24. He said he would headline, with MAGA-friendly musical acts, “God Bless the U.S.A” singer Lee Greenwood and opera singer Christopher Macchio opening for him.

The wording of Trump’s Truth Social post also seemed to suggest the State Fair has indeed been euthanized, while the event’s website no longer lists any musical artists.

“We don’t want singers with no talent, but big fees to put you to sleep, we’ve told them all to stay home,” Trump wrote on Thursday. “All we want is you, me, a few speakers, and the Greatest Music ever played, the same Music you have listened to for years!”

That blindsided Vanilla Ice, who took part in a softball interview with Laura Ingraham on Fox News on Thursday.

Even Trump-loyalist Ingraham seemed confused about the status of the Freedom 250-organized Great American State Fair, where Vanilla Ice, rapper Flo Rida and Freedom Williams of C+C Music Factory are the only performers yet to bail.

“It looks like the concert is now kind of morphing into a rally on the 24th of June,” Ingraham told the rapper.

“The rally is going to have some of the greatest music ever played,” she continued, “and I assume you’ll still be a part of all that…”

The rapper admitted he had not been informed about anything to do with the status of the event, and was simply “marinating.”

“I hope so, I don’t even know, I’m here marinating. But I’m honored to even be invited for this and I’ll be there, no matter what. This is gonna be an epic birthday for our country.”

The rapper has previously performed for Trump, including at a New Year’s Eve party at Mar-a-Lago this year. Footage posted by Donald Trump Jr. showed his father dancing at his table during his 1990 hit “Ice Ice Baby.”

After Ingraham asked if he would dance with Trump, the rapper said, “Heck yes, man, I’ve danced with him before and I’ll do it again.”

The Daily Beast has contacted the White House and Freedom 250 for comment on the status of the State Fair.

During the interview, a peeved Ingraham called artists who canceled their State Fair performance “spineless.”

The Fox News host claimed the artists are “so obsessed with hating [Trump] or so afraid of industry execs who hate him, that they’ll even refuse an opportunity to perform for their biggest audience in decades.”

Ingraham said she “didn’t doubt” that Vanilla Ice would still perform after others had canceled, but said it was a “sad commentary” that musicians couldn’t just “put it all aside, I would say for the president as well, but everything should put everything aside for the country.”

“Left, right, center… celebrate the goodness of our people.. don’t make it political,” Ingraham said. “I think Obama should come, Clinton should come, Biden, if he can still find the Capitol, should come. And Trump should invite them.”

Then rapper said, “Everybody’s invited, not divided, and this is what it should be… and who throws a better party than Trump? Let’s be honest, I’ve been to a few of them. This guy really knows how to throw a great party.”

On Sunday, Trump initially flagged the idea of the rally, saying he wanted to “cancel” the failing State Fair.

He posted on Truth Social that he wanted a “giant MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN RALLY, for 250, instead of having overpriced singers, who nobody wants to hear, whose music is boring, and yet who do nothing but complain.”