President Donald Trump's Freedom 250 organisation cancelled a concert by rapper Vanilla Ice just two hours before he was due to perform at the 'Great American State Fair' in Washington, D.C., citing inclement weather. The event, part of celebrations for the 250th anniversary of American independence, was closed for the rest of the day on Friday, with organisers stating that safety was their top priority.
Vanilla Ice, whose real name is Rob Van Winkle, had earlier described the performance as a 'once in a lifetime opportunity' in an Instagram post. In a video from the National Mall, he said, 'We're about to have a great party tonight. This is gonna be epic.' It remains unclear whether the concert will be rescheduled.
The cancellation is the latest setback for Freedom 250, which has seen most scheduled artists withdraw from its concert series. Performers including Martina McBride, The Commodores, and Bret Michaels dropped out shortly after the lineup was announced. Young MC stated that artists were 'never told about any political involvement with the event' when booked. Vanilla Ice had previously told TMZ he was 'not gonna get dragged' into politics, saying, 'I'm here to party with America.'
President Trump, who has referred to himself as the 'Number One Attraction anywhere in the World,' delivered a political rally-style speech at the fair's kick-off on Wednesday. He praised his renovation projects in Washington, including a costly ballroom at the centre of a legal battle, and the repainting of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Other issues at the fair included a power outage on Thursday that caused ice cream to melt in the summer heat, as reported by FOX 5 DC. The fair is scheduled to reopen on Saturday.
