Vanilla Ice said he doesn’t “get” why people are offended by him joining President Donald Trump’s upcoming “Great American State Fair” series of concerts to celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary.
The rapper, whose real name is Robert Van Winkle, appeared on Fox News Saturday after numerous other artists publicly canceled their appearances in the 16-day event, telling “Saturday in America” host Kayleigh McEnany that he’s “proud.”
“It’s crazy that all the attention is coming down on all this event and everything because I’m honored and just super proud,” noted Van Winkle. “My mom is proud and everybody I know is like, ‘This is awesome.’ And then there’s some people that are bailing out and all this stuff.
“And I’m like, ‘Why?’ You know, this will be the greatest concert on the planet. We’re turning 250 years. Let’s celebrate the country that we’re born and raised in,” he continued. “What’s wrong with being patriotic? And they said, ‘Oh, because Trump’s putting it on.’”
To recap, Trump launched mass deportations last year and enforced his immigration agenda to lethal results, overseen skyrocketing detentions of children and initiated an extremely unpopular war on Iran.
“I’m like, ‘So who throws a better party than Trump?’” said Van Winkle. “Man, I’ve been to a lot of them. That guy knows how to throw a real party and they’re classy, they’re great, they’re fun and just over the top — and amazing. So I’m like, ‘Even better.’ So I don’t get it.”
The event, to be held at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., is being curated by Freedom 250, a self-described “non-partisan organization” that Trump created by executive order. He will also be holding an Ultimate Fighting Championship event in front of the White House.
Multiple artists who have dropped out of the concert series have said the event was presented to them as nonpartisan. Trump has since lashed out on his Truth Social platform, boasting he might replace these “Third Rate ‘Artists’” himself.
He wrote last week that “the Number One Attraction anywhere in the World … who gets much larger audiences than Elvis in his prime” and is “the Greatest President In History (The GOAT!)” might take their “place” with a speech.
The official White House account on X shared his post, writing, “AMERICA IS BACK Rally!”
On Saturday, Van Winkle argued that those opposing Trump and his concert series are “shaken up on their beliefs, politically,” and that entertainers shouldn’t be “put on that kind of a pedestal,” suggesting his participation should not be viewed as an endorsement.
“It’s like a DJ, you can throw it on for any wedding,” he told McEnany. “If [former President] Joe Biden is getting married, you can throw it on for him. I’m sure there’s fans over there on that side, too. It’s about coming together, it’s about being American.”