Trump made the remarks in a post on Truth Social while reacting to reports that some performers had backed out of The Great American State Fair, part of the broader America 250 celebrations scheduled to take place in Washington.
“I understand Artists are getting ‘the yips’ having to do with their performance,” Trump wrote.
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The president then suggested replacing the performers with himself, describing himself as “the Number One Attraction anywhere in the World.”
“I am thinking about bringing the Number One Attraction anywhere in the World, the man who gets much larger audiences than Elvis in his prime,” Trump wrote.
He went on to describe himself as “the man who loves our Country more than anyone else, and the man who some say is the Greatest President in History (THE GOAT!), DONALD J. TRUMP.”
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Trump said he could “take the place of these highly paid, Third Rate ‘Artists,’ and give a major speech, rallying the Country forward like I have done ever since being President.”
Shortly after Trump’s post, Freedom 250, the organisation behind the event, confirmed that the president would personally kick off the celebrations.
“We are excited to announce that President Trump will personally kick off this historic celebration,” the group said in a statement.
The event is part of the United States’ upcoming 250th anniversary celebrations and is scheduled to be held on Washington’s National Mall. Organisers have said the programme will include exhibits, musical performances, flyovers and family-focused attractions.
Trump also used the post to praise his presidency and the state of the country.
“Two years ago, the United States was DEAD. Now we have the ‘HOTTEST’ Country anywhere in the World,” he wrote.
The president criticised artists who had withdrawn from the event, saying he did not want to be surrounded by performers who were unhappy despite being highly paid.
“I don’t want so-called ‘Artists’ that get paid far too much money, who aren’t happy. I only want to be surrounded by Happy People, Smart People, Successful People, and People that know how to WIN,” he wrote.
In a separate post, Trump suggested the event should be transformed into a political gathering.
“We should have 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,” he wrote.
The controversy follows the withdrawal of several artists, including Bret Michaels, the Commodores and Martina McBride. Some performers said they had initially understood the event to be nonpartisan and later became concerned about being drawn into a political dispute.
Freedom 250 describes itself as a nonpartisan organisation, though it was launched by Trump last year and is led by a former State Department appointee from his first administration. Other performers, including Flo Rida, Fab Morvan of Milli Vanilli and Vanilla Ice, remain on the lineup.
