WASHINGTON – After prominent artists pulled out of a series of planned concerts celebrating the nation's 250th anniversary, President Donald Trump said he was considering canceling the musical performances and giving a speech himself instead.

In a social media post on Saturday, May 30, the president criticized the musicians, whom he did not name specifically, for getting what he called "the yips." He appeared to be referencing the collapsing lineup of musical superstars for the Great American State Fair, a 16-day event organized by the president's nonprofit Freedom 250.

Country star Martina McBride and R&B group The Commodores were among the latest cancelations for the concert, which is slated to run June 25 through July 10 on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Both said they were initially under the impression the event would be entirely nonpartisan.

Read more: Milli Vanilli out, Vanilla Ice in; who’s left for Trump 250 State Fair?

Martina McBride was scheduled to perform on June 25 before dropping out on X. The country musician said the Great American State Fair was misleadingly presented to her as a "non-partisan event.""It greatly upsets me that any fan who has been moved by my music may now feel like I’m abandoning the meaning behind those songs," she wrote on May 28. "I assure you, that is not the case. I appreciate every single fan who has reached out. I hope to get back to the DC area very soon."

Vanilla Ice will perform June 25 at the Great American State Fair as part of an "I Love the '90s!" lineup, which the organizers call an "evening of '90s nostalgia, iconic hits, and live performances from some of the era’s most recognizable names."

Milli Vanilli was also announced for the "I Love the '90s!" lineup. Fab Morvan is the surviving member of the German pop duo following Rob Pilatus’ death in 1998.However, plans changed when singer Jodie Rocco told The Associated Press in an email May 28 that the group was not contacted to perform at the event."My sister and I were shocked to see our name, 'Milli Vanilli,' as one of the performers," Rocco told the outlet.

“Bust a Move” singer Young MC was scheduled as part of the June 26 lineup.In a May 27 post on Facebook, he said he had informed his agents he would not be performing at the "Freedom 250 event."

“The artists were never told about any political involvement with the event," the rapper said in his post. "And despite the claims by the organizers that the event is non-partisan, SPIN magazine describes it as Trump-backed. I hope to perform in D.C. in the near future at an event that is not so politically charged.”

C+C Music Factory, the group best known for “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now),” was announced as part of the June 26 schedule. It's unclear if the group is still set to perform.Frontman Freedom Williams said in an Instagram video that he was not informed of the Great American State Fair's affiliation with President Trump when he was booked for the event.He teased in an expletive-ridden tirade that he might go ahead with the performance to spite his detractors, saying, "The day I let you ... tell me what to do is the day I die. ... You can't cancel me."

The Commodores were scheduled to perform on June 27 at the Great American State Fair.But they joined the wave of defectors, sharing the news in a May 28 Instagram post that read, "The Commodores will not be performing at the Great American State Fair.""Our music has always been our voice and we choose not to publicly affiliate with any single political party. We support the betterment of all Americans."

Morris Day and The Time were set to appear June 27. However, they changed their tune on May 28."It’s A No For Me😎," Day wrote in a post on Instagram. The artist did not elaborate further.

Flo Rida is scheduled to take the stage July 2.

Poison lead singer Bret Michaels was slated to perform July 3, but in a lengthy Instagram post on Friday, May 29, he announced his exit due to the event becoming "divisive" as well as threats he has received."Concerns have also been raised regarding the safety of my fans, band, crew, family and myself, including threats that are completely unfounded and unforgivable," he wrote.

Martina McBride was scheduled to perform on June 25 before dropping out on X. The country musician said the Great American State Fair was misleadingly presented to her as a "non-partisan event.""It greatly upsets me that any fan who has been moved by my music may now feel like I’m abandoning the meaning behind those songs," she wrote on May 28. "I assure you, that is not the case. I appreciate every single fan who has reached out. I hope to get back to the DC area very soon."

"That turned out to be misleading," McBride said in a statement.

Read more: Nearly all Great American State Fair acts drop out, including Bret Michaels

Amid mounting cancelations, Trump said he was thinking about organizing what he characterized in his post as an "AMERICA IS BACK Rally."

"I don't want so-called 'Artists' that get paid far too much money, who aren't happy," he wrote online.

It wasn't clear from the president's remarks when exactly the rally would be or if other musicians would still perform. Freedom 250 did not immediately respond to a request for clarification on Trump's post.

Zachary Schermele is a congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump says he wants to cancel Freedom 250 concert, hold rally instead