Trump may cancel Freedom 250 concerts to give speech after artists pull out

The US president floated the idea of holding a rally instead of concerts, calling himself the No 1 attraction and a bigger draw than Elvis

US President Donald Trump ⁠will headline an event commemorating the ⁠nation’s 250th anniversary on the National Mall next month after several musical performers scheduled to appear in the celebration cancelled, citing concerns about its association with him

Danielle Alvarez, an adviser to Freedom 250, ⁠told The Washington Post that “Trump will ⁠personally kick off this historic celebration on Wednesday, June 24 in an opening ceremony celebrating America’s 250th birthday”.

The president had said earlier on Saturday ⁠that he was considering cancelling ⁠the concerts and replacing them with a speech and political-style rally instead.

The performances were planned as part of the larger Great American State Fair, ‌a 16-day event running from June 25 to July 10.

Organisers said the fair, organised by the Freedom 250 group, would stretch on the National Mall from the US Capitol to the Washington Monument, with concert stages, state pavilions, exhibits, rides and other attractions spread across the Mall.

But the musical line-up has been hit by ⁠a series of cancellations. On Friday, Bret Michaels, the lead singer of the rock band Poison, ‌became the fifth performer to withdraw from the concerts, saying that the event was not the non-partisan celebration that he thought it would be.