They are about to spend millions of dollars of public and private money on the National Mall this Wednesday, and you already know it's going to be a wild scene. President Trump is kicking off America’s 250th birthday celebrations with a massive rally, complete with stealth bombers, fighter jets flying over the city, military bands, and a whole lot of political hype. But behind the scenes, the drama is real, and the artists scheduled to perform have been dodging the event like a bad contract.

Here’s the setup: Congress put up a massive $150 million (£112 million) of taxpayer money ten years ago for a group called "America250" to plan a nice, quiet, nonpartisan birthday party. But Trump set up his own group called "Freedom 250"—a public-private partnership dumping millions more into the mix. They planned a massive 16-day "Great American State Fair" on the Mall from June 25 to July 10, showcasing all 56 states and territories.

But when it came time to book the music, things went left. Big-name artists like The Commodores, Young MC, Martina McBride, and Bret Michaels were all on the flyer for the concert series. But once they realized the gig was tied directly to the White House and Trump’s Freedom 250 group, they immediately hit the eject button. They claimed they didn’t even know it was a political setup and didn't want any part of it.

Instead of trying to play nice and save the concert, Trump did what he always does—he went on Truth Social and put them all on blast. He called them "singers with no talent, but big fees to put you to sleep" and told them all to stay home. He cancelled the whole concert series and decided to turn the Wednesday launch into what he's calling the "Rally to end all Rallies."

To fill the empty spots, Trump brought in his loyalists. He's got Lee Greenwood singing "God Bless the USA" to introduce him, tenor Christopher Macchio, and country singer Alexis Wilkins—who just happens to be the longtime girlfriend of FBI Director Kash Patel. Talk about keeping it in the family.

For regular folks looking at this from the outside, it’s the same old story. You’ve got politicians fighting over a birthday party, spending crazy amounts of money on fighter jets and massive state fairs while the streets are dealing with real-world problems. They're literally building giant structures all over the Mall from the Capitol to the Washington Monument, turning a national anniversary into a massive brand-building exercise.

At the end of the day, whether you're there for the flyovers or just watching the drama unfold on social media, Trump is making sure his face is all over this 250th birthday. The artists who wanted to keep their names clean of politics cleared out, and now the stage is set for a full-blown political rally in the heart of D.C.

Sources: * U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission Act of 2016 (Public Law 114-196) * National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior - Special Event Permit Guidelines * U.S. Government Publishing Office - Federal Appropriations Reports for America250 * Executive Office of the President - Official Declarations on Public-Private Partnerships