Rapper Vanilla Ice, known for his 1990 hit "Ice Ice Baby," said Thursday he hopes to take the stage at President Donald Trump's planned rally in Washington, D.C., on June 24. The event was hastily assembled after a scheduled concert at the Kennedy Center fell apart when several musical acts backed out amid backlash over its political affiliations.
In an appearance on Fox News's The Ingraham Angle, Vanilla Ice—whose real name is Robert Matthew Van Winkle—said he was uncertain whether Trump still wanted him to perform following the cancellation of the "Freedom 250" concert. But when asked if he would participate in the rally, he replied, "I hope so. I don't even know. I'm here marinating. But I'm honored to even be invited for this."
Even if his role remains unclear, the rapper vowed to attend regardless. "I'll be there no matter what," he told host Laura Ingraham. "This is going to be an epic birthday for our country. I'm honored. And it's going to be a lot of fun."
The original concert lineup included Vanilla Ice, Bret Michaels, and Flo Rida, but it unraveled after artists like Martina McBride, The Commodores, and Young MC withdrew. McBride said on social platform X that she had been "presented with an opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event but that turned out to be misleading."
Trump responded by scrapping the concert entirely and announcing a rally instead, branding the departed performers as "overpriced singers, who nobody wants to hear, whose music is boring, and yet who do nothing but complain." In a post on Truth Social, he wrote, "Cancel it, just like I canceled my involvement with the failing and unsafe to be in Kennedy Center."
The new rally will feature country singer Lee Greenwood, whose anthem "God Bless the USA" has become a staple at Trump events, and tenor Christopher Macchio, who sang the national anthem at Trump's second inauguration. Military musical groups will also perform.
This shift is the latest in a series of Trump's confrontations with the Kennedy Center, which he has criticized as politically biased. The rally is part of a broader slate of events marking America's 250th birthday, and Trump has framed it as a celebration of patriotism over what he calls elite cultural institutions.
Vanilla Ice's eagerness to participate underscores the ongoing alignment of certain pop culture figures with Trump's political brand, even as other artists distance themselves. The rally is expected to draw thousands to the nation's capital, with Trump's team billing it as a major show of force ahead of the 2026 midterms.
For more on Trump's legal battles, see Trump’s SLAPP Suits: A Legal Strategy to Silence the Press. And for analysis of Democratic responses, read Buttigieg Rises as Democrats' Go-To Trump Counterweight Ahead of Midterms.
