Trump Considers Producing His Own DC Event After Artists Drop Out, Hints at Starring Role

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May 30, 2026 10:34am PT

Trump Slams ‘Third Rate Artists’ Dropping Out of D.C. Performances, Says He May Produce Different Event Starring Someone With a ‘Much Larger Audience Than Elvis’… Himself

By Chris Willman

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Chris Willman

Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic

ChrisWillman

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President Donald J. Trump issued a social media statement Saturday in which he seemed to be taking issue with “third rate artists” dropping out of government-sponsored appearances in Washington, D.C., suggesting that he is looking at instead producing a different patriotic event that will have as its primary performer a star “who gets much larger audiences than Elvis”… Donald J. Trump.

The Truth Social statement is confusing on first blush, since Trump repeatedly refers to “Wednesday” as the date something could or would happen. In the context of the news of the last few days, he would seem to be referencing the wave of music artists dropping out of the “ Freedom 250 ” series, but those shows are all scheduled for late June or early July, so the timeline for his line of thinking in the post is far from clear.

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_Originally reported by [Variety Music](https://variety.com/2026/music/news/trump-slams-third-rate-artists-dropping-out-freedom-250-1236763119/)._