Before accused sexual harasser Neil deGrasse Tyson joined the show for a softball interview, “Real Time” host Bill Maher dedicated a large chunk of his monologue Friday night to President Trump’s unfortunate Freedom 250 concert series on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., honoring America’s 250th birthday on July 6.
“We’re having a 250th birthday party for America. A concert,” offered Maher. “They announced the lineup: Vanilla Ice, Milli Vanilli, Morris Day, Bret Michaels. I think this is very admirable about the president — it shows that he’s concerned for the unemployed.”
Much like Trump’s embarrassing 2017 pre-inauguration concert, which boasted the likes of The Piano Guys and someone called DJ Ravidrums, his Freedom 250 Concert has been plagued by a large number of dropouts, with numerous artists alleging they were misled and unaware of Trump’s involvement before signing on. Rocker Bret Michaels, R&B group The Commodores, rapper Young MC, Morris Day and the Time, and the original singers of Milli Vanilli have all announced they’re pulling out of the show. Country star Martina McBride took to Twitter to announce she was bowing out, writing, “I was presented with an opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event but that turned out to be misleading.”
Cue Maher: “And then, after they announced this all-star lineup, a lot of them said, ‘No, what are you talking about? We’re not playing.’ That’s got to hurt a lot when you can’t close the deal with Milli Vanilli.”
In addition to Milli Vanilli’s Fab Morvan, who rather infamously only lip-synced on the group’s albums, rappers Vanilla Ice and Flo Rida are still scheduled to perform at the Freedom 250 concert series, which will run June 25 to July 10.
And Maher wasn’t done taking shots at Trump.
“Here’s something in the category of wow, we never used to be this country: They’re putting out a $250 bill with Trump’s face on it,” he cracked. “I guess it’s commemorative. Republicans in Congress are thrilled about it. They can’t wait to carry it in their wallet. What a switcheroo: having Trump’s face next to their ass.”