‘It must be me’: Trump to headline 'Freedom 250' rally as multiple artists drop out of planned show

[0:03] As he faces a whole lot of legal setbacks over his so-called weaponization fund and D.C. makeover plans, [0:09] it's safe to say it's been a pretty bad week for President Trump. [0:13] After most of the musicians slated to perform at the White House's Great American State Fair for the nation's 250th anniversary dropped out, [0:21] the president announced in a series of true social posts, don't worry, he got it, [0:24] that the concert would be changed to a rally headlined by who else but the man himself. [0:30] And amid this difficult week, Trump sat down with a hard-hitting journalist, his daughter-in-law, [0:36] Lara Trump, and gave her a behind-the-scenes look at the construction status of his other vanity project, his ballroom. [0:44] I would say it will be the greatest facility of its kind ever built, by far. [0:49] And it's a gift from me and from great patriots that, you know, it's going to cost the country nothing. [0:54] From the standpoint of usage, other presidents will have it for 200 years. [0:58] I'll have it for about six months. [1:00] In other words, when it's finished, I'll only have it for six, I'll only have the use of it for six months. [1:06] It's a great facility, and we're going to have the inauguration here. [1:12] Sure, I guess. [1:13] Joining us now is MSNOW White House reporter Akela Gardner. [1:17] Dana Milbanks is back with us. [1:20] Akela, let's start with you. [1:22] It feels like this was always going to turn into a rally. [1:24] It feels like Trump was always going to bring himself to the forefront, [1:27] and whether or not these six of nine folks dropped out of that. [1:30] Is that actually the case, or was he really going to stay out of it? [1:33] Because he tends not to be able to. [1:34] You know, it was very confusing when he posted this on True Social yesterday, [1:37] because he kept referencing Wednesday, and none of the concert dates actually fall. [1:46] You're like, do we have another concert to cover? [1:47] And so we didn't get a whole lot of clarity from the White House, [1:50] but then Freedom 250 put out a statement that they are going to now kick off this series of concerts [1:56] with a speech from the president. [1:58] But it just goes to show that a lot of the concerns that the artists had were valid. [2:03] It's not actually a nonpartisan event. [2:05] And it's important to understate that there's a distinction between America 250, [2:10] which was this commission created by Congress, [2:13] and Freedom 250, which is created by the Trump administration as a public-private partnership. [2:18] So it's hard not to say that there's not a partisan lane there. [2:22] It's impossible to say it. [2:23] There is. [2:25] Especially now. [2:26] Seriously, I wonder where this speech is going to be. [2:29] Perhaps the ellipse? [2:30] I don't know. [2:32] Dana, there's another place where the president now says, [2:35] I have nothing, I don't want anything to do with it. [2:37] And that's the Kennedy Center. [2:40] Yesterday, on his social media platform, [2:44] he writes, [2:45] I canceled my involvement with the failing and unsafe-to-be-in Kennedy Center [2:49] because a highly conflicted, crooked federal judge [2:51] said that I should not be allowed to spend my time and money [2:55] in order to make the center great again. [2:58] Judge Cooper also stated that the highly prestigious board of the center [3:01] was not authorized to add on the name of Trump, [3:03] despite the fact that hundreds of millions of dollars of my time and money [3:06] will be necessary for its successful reincarnation. [3:09] So now, the Kennedy Center will collapse, [3:12] both structurally and financially. [3:14] You can't fire me, I quit. [3:17] You know what? [3:18] And I think I mentioned this to you yesterday. [3:20] It also sounds like the template for Iran. [3:22] But anyway, he goes in there, [3:27] punches his name into the memorial wall, [3:30] and says he's going to do all this stuff. [3:33] And then the moment someone says, [3:35] that was illegal, [3:36] he says, I'm done. [3:37] I never wanted to be a part of it anyway. [3:40] That's worrisome. [3:41] It must mean he's got something else planned. [3:44] Like, maybe I'm an outlier on this, [3:46] but I was like, all right, name the Kennedy Center, [3:49] put up big banners of yourself on buildings, [3:51] but maybe, like, you know, don't start another war or something. [3:54] So a little... [3:55] You have to choose on the list. [3:56] Right, so I was like, [3:57] maybe a little vanity wouldn't be such a bad thing. [4:00] But I, you know, I love the idea. [4:03] Like, you know, more power to him. [4:05] Let him give a speech on the mall [4:08] to celebrate the nation's birthday. [4:09] In fact, he can give a concert himself. [4:13] And I've even, I've selected a few songs. [4:15] All I do is win. [4:18] All I do is win, win, win, no matter what. [4:21] Thank me now. [4:22] And it must be me. [4:24] And we can have, we can have the cabinet [4:26] as sort of like a Greek chorus in the background. [4:29] Oh, too, that Christy Noem is no longer there. [4:31] Because remember when he did that rally [4:33] and she stood behind him dancing all robotically? [4:36] La Trump sings. [4:37] Maybe she'll do it. [4:38] Oh, my God. [4:39] Vanilla Ice will be there. [4:41] I guarantee we're going to hear Ice Ice Caving. [4:44] And lowrida, still scheduled to speak. [4:46] Lowrida. [4:46] Two people nobody has been thinking about. [4:49] So we're talking about, you mentioned vanity projects. [4:52] How do you think, based on your reporting, [4:55] how do you think like all of this is playing with the public? [4:58] Not well. [4:59] Yeah. [4:59] I mean, it's not the worst thing that's happening. [5:03] Obviously, people are more concerned about their gas [5:05] and their groceries and their health care and their housing. [5:09] Do you think they're paying attention to it? [5:10] Do you think all of this is broken through? [5:12] I think it breaks through in the sense of corruption, right? [5:16] It's not a particular project. [5:17] You know, I don't think anybody's going to focus on the particular concert [5:20] or the Kennedy Center or the huge arch we're building, right, [5:24] or a $250 bill with Trump's face on it, [5:27] or National Park passes, whatever it is. [5:31] They're getting a sense that— [5:32] The coin. [5:32] You let out the coin. [5:33] Yeah, we got all that. [5:34] Passport. [5:34] But, you know, that he's doing all this to exalt himself. [5:39] He's using the powers of the state to enrich himself, [5:42] to empower his friends, to punish his enemies. [5:45] And they're just all pieces of that puzzle. [5:47] And I think the corruption thing really does get through. [5:50] You were about to jump in. [5:51] Yeah, and I think to this point, like, [5:53] we saw three separate and very lengthy true social posts [5:57] just about the Kennedy Center yesterday. [6:00] Meanwhile, we're still waiting an answer from President Trump [6:03] about what his, quote, final determination is [6:05] when it comes to the war in Iran. [6:06] I mean, that is an issue that Americans do care about [6:10] because they understand that their gas prices are high [6:12] because of this ongoing war. [6:14] And, frankly, the world is watching these negotiations. [6:16] They want the straight-up form moves to reopen, [6:18] and yet still no update from the president now 48 hours [6:21] since he met with his national security team. [6:23] Well, it's a question of focus, right? [6:25] That's the thing here, is that when you talk to voters, [6:27] and we've had all of our reporters out there at gas stations, [6:30] at diners talking to folks, [6:32] and people are able to connect things, right? [6:34] I think one of the things that we don't give people enough credit [6:36] here in D.C. is that voters are very smart, [6:39] especially nowadays, where they're able to see, [6:41] okay, this thing happened, this true social announcement happened, [6:44] and now look at where that impact is. [6:47] And I think when, as you guys are talking to folks [6:49] in the White House, do they get it? [6:51] It seems like some of the staff may understand that. [6:54] You have Susie Wiles telling staff, like, [6:57] let Trump be Trump, but we're going to focus on affordability, [6:59] even though the president's going to be focused on [7:01] whatever he wants to focus on. [7:02] No, absolutely. [7:02] The staff basically tells all the president's surrogates, [7:06] you all have to be incredibly disciplined on message [7:08] because we can't control President Trump. [7:11] And I think even the true socials that we saw this weekend [7:13] is such a good example of, [7:14] often the president announces things, [7:16] his staff finds out the same time we do on true social, [7:19] and then they have to coalesce around it and work with it. [7:22] But I think it's certainly frustrating for them [7:24] when the president is not focused on, frankly, the midterms, [7:27] which are just a very short time away. [7:29] Yeah, he don't care. [7:29] We have to go to a break, but I cannot let us go to a break. [7:34] When are you going to do this? [7:34] Without, which one am I going to go to? [7:36] E5? [7:37] Yep, exactly. [7:38] Exactly. [7:39] This is a story from the Washington Post, [7:41] and no need to comment. [7:42] I'm just going to read it. [7:44] Pentagon recruiting troops to watch White House UFC fights. [7:49] The Pentagon is moving to recruit hundreds of troops [7:52] to appear as spectators [7:54] at President Donald Trump's UFC cage-fighting event [7:58] at the White House [7:59] and requiring those who attend to pay for their travel [8:03] and meet height and weight requirements, [8:07] according to people familiar with the matter, [8:09] and internal memos reviewed by the Washington Post. [8:12] I'm going to just leave it there. [8:14] Kayla Gardner, Dana Milbank, thank you both very much. [8:17] Look at that. [8:18] That is a live shot of your White House [8:20] with the UFC dome or alien wave machine [8:25] behind the White House from the South Lawn. [8:28] Kayla, Dana, thank you very much.