A White House-backed concert series imploded within hours of the lineup being announced. Days later, Donald Trump was threatening to headline the events himself or cancel the whole thing outright.His administration’s Freedom 250 project boasted “star-studded entertainment” from “legendary” artists. But by the end of the week, the president was calling them “overpriced singers” who perform “boring” music that “nobody wants to hear.”The bizarre and very public collapse of a high-profile, publicly funded concert series to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary has left just four acts standing over 16 nights — raising questions about how they were even booked in the first place.Freedom 250 — which is funded through a public-private partnership with support from Trump-aligned tech firms Palantir and Oracle and federal contractors Deloitte and Lockheed Martin, among others — was already facing scrutiny from watchdog groups and members of Congress over the use of federal dollars for Trump-aligned events.Trump has long wanted a splashy event and even splashier Washington, D.C. for this year’s Fourth of July. Instead, what he’s getting looks more and more like it will only be a souped-up version of one of the countless MAGA rallies — with a “Jock Jams” soundtrack.Donald Trump exploded at aides after artists backed out of a White House-supported Freedom 250 concert series. He is now suggesting headlining the event himself (Getty)After Freedom 250 announced headliners for the Great American State Fair on the National Mall this summer, the lineup fell apart almost immediately. At least five artists canceled their appearance over the event’s MAGA-coded political overtones of what had been pitched as a nonpartisan event.The president exploded at aides over the cancellation fiasco and wants heads to roll over the embarrassing failure, according to a person familiar with the situation.Bands started dropping out shortly after Freedom 250 issued a press release last week.“Contrary to Rumor, Morris Day & The Time Will Not Be Performing At The ‘Great American State Fair,’” the band announced on Facebook.Young MC said the artists “were never told about any political involvement with the event” when they were booked.“I was presented with an opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event but that turned out to be misleading,” country singer Martina McBide said in a statement on social media.Poison frontman Bret Michaels, a past winner of The Celebrity Apprentice, said he was similarly deceived.“Unfortunately, what was presented to us as a celebration of our country has evolved into something much more divisive than what I agreed to be a part of,” he wrote.Construction is underway for Freedom 250’s UFC match on the White House lawn while Trump leads a dramatic transformation of the nation’s capital, including demolition of the East Wing to make way for his ballroom (Getty)Among the last-standing acts is a group advertised as Milli Vanilli, the infamous lip-syncing pop duo.The duo’s sole surviving member, Fab Morvan, gained the rights to the Milli Vanilli name and continues to book performances without involvement of the backing musicians who actually sang on the group’s records.Representatives for Morvan did not return The Independent’s request for comment. But one of the singers whose voice was used at the height of the group’s fame, Jodie Rocco, told The Independent that Morvan’s project has absolutely nothing to do with the work she and her twin sister did for Milli Vanilli decades ago. “Our name and music are being used to promote an acoustic/alternative repertoire that is NOT Milli Vanilli, but instead, Fab Morvan creating his idea/thing with musicians and vocalists that had nothing to do with us,” she said.“We have no problem with that, except that it’s NOT Milli Vanilli and it shouldn’t be called ‘Milli Vanilli’. His social media status states ‘X MilliVanilli member’, yet he keeps using the name while performing altered, ‘covers’ of our songs,” Rocco said. “It’s immaterial whether he has the ‘rights’ or not.”Rocco added that the “real” artists behind Milli Vanilli “would have performed our hit songs with pleasure” had they been asked to appear.Fab Morvan, right, the surviving member of lip-syncing pop duo Milli Vanilli, is among a handful of artists who have not backed out of the Freedom 250 concerts (Getty)Another group billed as C&C Music Factory, the dance group best known for “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now),” is also on the bill.Freedom Williams, a rapper who owns the right to use the group’s name, appeared frustrated by fans looking to “cancel” him over his involvement in a video posted to Instagram in which he stressed that he “doesn’t f*** with Trump.”“The day I let you motherf***ers tell me what to do is the day I die,” he said in the video.Robert Clivillés — who founded the group with David Cole, who died in 1995 — said in a statement that Williams was “disguising himself as C&C Music Factory.” Clivillés “was neither involved in, consulted regarding, nor have I endorsed the event,” he said.Rappers Flo Rida and Vanilla Ice — the “Ice Ice Baby” rapper who has performed at Mar-a-Lago several times — also don’t appear to be backing out.The 1990s one-hit wonder artist, whose real name is Robert Van Winkle, said in a TikTok video that he was “super honored to do this concert.” “We don’t take anything too serious,” he added.Jeff Epstein, the co-owner and president of Universal Attractions Agency, which handled booking for several acts, did not return The Independent’s request for comment.On his Truth Social, the president lashed out at “overpriced” and “boring” artists and urged organizers to “cancel” the entire thing and replace it with one of his signature rallies.“I am ordering my Representatives to look at the feasibility of doing an AMERICA IS BACK Rally,” he said. “Same time, same location. Only Great Patriots invited!”Trump added that with him as headliner, the event would attract “much larger audiences than Elvis in his prime.”Vanilla Ice, who was performed at Mar-a-Lago several times, says he is ‘super honored’ to perform at the concert series (Getty)Freedom 250 events seem to lack any clear ties to events surrounding the country’s founding but instead appear to be tailored to the president’s agenda and his supporters.Construction crews are building a massive Ultimate Fighting Championship ring on the White House lawn for an event that coincides with the president’s 80th birthday.There are also plans for an IndyCar race on a 1.7-mile circuit laid out on some of the capital’s most iconic streets.Last month, Freedom 250 sponsored “Rededicate 250,” a day of Christian prayer on the National Mall with a speaking lineup that largely included Trump-allied evangelical Christians, far-right preachers and multiple administration officials.Those plans dovetail with Trump’s dramatic transformation of the nation’s capital with a multi-billion dollar package of gilded renovations and new construction catering to his tastes, from the demolition of the East Wing of the White House for a massive ballroom to plans for the world’s largest triumphal arch and an overhaul of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.Trump’s UFC match on the White House lawn, which coincides with the president’s 80th birthday, joins a series of Trump-backed events under the Freedom 250 banner (Reuters)But the heart of the Trumpian bread-and-circuses spectacle is Freedom 250, established by Trump with an executive order signed during his first week in office.Trump’s order created the White House Task Force on Celebrating America’s 250th Birthday with himself as the chair. The task force includes Vice President JD Vance, multiple cabinet secretaries and even Stephen Miller, the longtime Trump aide and anti-immigration crusader.Freedom 250 staff includes several young organizers who appear to have little experience planning large-scale events. Several staffers include former Daily Wire contributors, Republican campaign workers, White House interns and GOP congressional aides.Chief of staff Danielle Madda is a former adviser to the deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget and a director of operations for Republican Rep. Rich McCormick. She also worked on his campaign. Chief Partnerships Officer Rachel Gerli was a “special advisor” for America 250 until she was hired by the competing organization last year.Event manager Ann Pierce worked as a chief of staff at the Republican National Committee and as a staffer with the Trump-aligned super PAC America First Action. She also worked as an administrative director on the House Homeland Security Committee and as a staffer in the office of Republican Rep. Ralph Abraham.Those staffers did not respond to The Independent’s requests for comment.Keith Krach, a former Trump administration official who now serves as CEO of Freedom 250, also did not respond to The Independent’s request for comment.Asked if there were plans for the president to invite a new slate of performers to replace those who dropped out, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told The Independent: “President Trump is excited to participate in various events across the country that properly honors the momentous 250th anniversary of America’s great founding.” Trump — who has demanded a bigger, showier celebration for the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations — created a competing organization that appears to have been drawing taxpayer funds and corporate support from the bipartisan America 250 initiative (AFP/Getty)The president and his aides wanted a bigger, more showmanlike celebration of the nation’s birthday than what appeared to have been planned by the decade-old, bipartisan United States Semiquincentennial Commission, according to a person familiar with the administration’s internal deliberations.That group, which traces its roots to a July 2016 law signed by then-president Barack Obama, has been plagued by infighting and accusations over misuse of federal funds appropriated to the commission.America 250 has stood up several initiatives, including launching a series of America 250-branded postage stamps last month, but it has only put on a handful of events, including the shambolic military parade demanded by Trump last June and an “America 250 kickoff celebration” in Iowa that turned into a partisan political rally.Since then, the bipartisan initiative has largely been sidelined in favor of Freedom 250.Trump stuffed Freedom 250 into the tax-exempt National Park Foundation, which was established by Congress in 1967 to raise private dollars to support the nation’s parks.That unusual structure has made it difficult to know where the money is coming from and how the money is being spent.“This leaves us all guessing which one of Donald Trump’s billionaire buddies and which foreign interests are buying access,” Democratic Rep. Maxine Dexter told lawmakers earlier this year.For $1 million, donors were offered a private reception with the president and what was advertised as a “historic photo opportunity,” according to The New York Times. Corporate sponsors who donated $5 million or more could get their company logos stamped on the event.Last year, Congress appropriated $150 million in public funds for the nation’s 250th celebration, and gave the Interior Department authority to distribute the cash.But the bipartisan America 250 commission recently told Congress that it is facing a $100 million “funding shortfall,” according to documents obtained by NOTUS.America 250 received only $25 million of the $100 million it expected from the Trump administration, the commission said.Since January, “we have not been made aware of additional funding tranches to meet this expectation,” according to the commission.Trump stuffed Freedom 250 into the tax-exempt National Park Foundation, which raises private dollars for public projects, making it difficult to know where money is coming from and how money is being spent on his Fourth of July project (Getty)The Interior Department, meanwhile, has funneled at least $68 million in taxpayer funds to the parent group of Freedom 250, NOTUS found.Within the last year, the National Park Foundation has received nearly $80 million in federal government grants — roughly 10 times more than the foundation has received from the government since 2009.Democratic lawmakers and watchdog groups are pressing the Interior Department to provide a “clear accounting” of money routed to Freedom 250.Watchdog group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility filed a lawsuit last month demanding key documents behind Freedom 250’s funding scheme.The organization is asking for details about the project siphoning $100 million in taxpayer dollars from the competing America 250 while co-mingling private and federal funding without congressional oversight.“America’s 250th anniversary celebration is supposed to be an occasion for strengthening public trust in our democratic institutions, not eroding it,” the organization’s executive director Tim Whitehouse said in a statement.“In contrast, Freedom 250 is a privately managed slush fund designed to operate with no transparency, no accountability, and no guardrails,” he said. “It epitomizes what is wrong with politics today.”