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BOMBSHELL BREAKING NEWS: Vanilla Ice Concert Canceled at Trump Event
Vanilla Ice, One of the Few Freedom 250 Event Holdouts, Sees Concert Canceled
“So, is Vanilla Ice getting iced out?” a Fox News host inquires amid the update
Alyssa Ray
June 26, 2026 @ 6:53 PM
(Photo credit: Getty Images)
Vanilla Ice did not get to perform at Freedom 250’s Great American State Fair, even after being one of the only headliners to not back out of the event this month.
The “Ice Ice Baby” rapper was slated to perform at President Donald Trump’s celebration for the U.S.’s 250th birthday on Friday, as part of the “I Love the 90s!” event taking place on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. However, less than two hours before the event was scheduled to begin, organizers for the Great American State Fair paused the day’s festivities over heavy rainfall.
“Due to inclement weather in the area, the Freedom 250 Great American State Fair and FIFA World Cup 2026™ Fan Zone will be closed for the rest of the day — Friday, June 26, 2026,” organizers wrote on X Friday afternoon. “The safety of our guests, staff, and partners remains our top priority. We are actively monitoring conditions and will provide updates as they become available. The Great American State Fair will reopen tomorrow at 10 AM.”
As the storm shut out the state fair celebration, Fox News reported on the update, with one host asking reporter Kevin Corke: “So, is Vanilla Ice getting iced out?”
{snip}
“So, is Vanilla Ice getting iced out?” a Fox News host inquires amid the update
Alyssa Ray
June 26, 2026 @ 6:53 PM
(Photo credit: Getty Images)
Vanilla Ice did not get to perform at Freedom 250’s Great American State Fair, even after being one of the only headliners to not back out of the event this month.
The “Ice Ice Baby” rapper was slated to perform at President Donald Trump’s celebration for the U.S.’s 250th birthday on Friday, as part of the “I Love the 90s!” event taking place on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. However, less than two hours before the event was scheduled to begin, organizers for the Great American State Fair paused the day’s festivities over heavy rainfall.
“Due to inclement weather in the area, the Freedom 250 Great American State Fair and FIFA World Cup 2026™ Fan Zone will be closed for the rest of the day — Friday, June 26, 2026,” organizers wrote on X Friday afternoon. “The safety of our guests, staff, and partners remains our top priority. We are actively monitoring conditions and will provide updates as they become available. The Great American State Fair will reopen tomorrow at 10 AM.”
As the storm shut out the state fair celebration, Fox News reported on the update, with one host asking reporter Kevin Corke: “So, is Vanilla Ice getting iced out?”
{snip}
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
Culture
Vanilla Ice Knows When America Was Great
To celebrate the country’s 250th birthday, the rapper wants to transport us to another decade.
By Spencer Kornhaber
Photographs by Ysa Pérez
Robert Van Winkle at home in Palm Beach County, Florida (Ysa Pérez for The Atlantic)
June 24, 2026
This article was featured in the One Story to Read Today newsletter. Sign up for it here.
Walk past the elevator in the gold-gilded living room, past the mural of Spanish galleons seeking the Fountain of Youth, past the Mortal Kombat console, step outside, and there—just by the lazy river—you’ll find Vanilla Ice’s 9/11 memorial.
Last week, the 58-year-old rapper, born Robert Van Winkle, was giving me a tour of his mansion in Florida’s Palm Beach County. Pattering brightly and ceaselessly, he puzzled over his smart toilet (“I think it’s made for a woman to have fun and enjoy yourself on it, because it’s got buttons that I’m just thinking, This is curious”) and revealed his favorite Ninja Turtle (Raphael). We stopped at a shiny pole standing on the back patio. Before I could make any assumptions about what it was for, he explained that it had come from a fire station whose workers responded during the destruction of the World Trade Center. A wall plaque commemorated the 343 firefighters lost that day. “Never forget,” he said, before bringing me to his red-cushioned movie theater.
That Van Winkle is a patriot there can be no doubt. On Friday night, he’ll perform at the Great American State Fair in Washington, D.C.—an event that many other famous musicians dropped out of because of its association with Donald Trump. Given that Van Winkle’s fame peaked with 1990’s “Ice Ice Baby,” his status as the musical centerpiece of our semiquincentennial may seem quite random. But really, the booking makes a lot of sense. At a time when national infighting has dispelled all hopes of unified partying, Van Winkle preaches an uncomplicated view of what makes the country great, beamed in from a seemingly more carefree time.
Keep reading The Atlantic.
About the Author
Spencer Kornhaber
Spencer Kornhaber is a staff writer at The Atlantic.
Vanilla Ice Knows When America Was Great
To celebrate the country’s 250th birthday, the rapper wants to transport us to another decade.
By Spencer Kornhaber
Photographs by Ysa Pérez
Robert Van Winkle at home in Palm Beach County, Florida (Ysa Pérez for The Atlantic)
June 24, 2026
This article was featured in the One Story to Read Today newsletter. Sign up for it here.
Walk past the elevator in the gold-gilded living room, past the mural of Spanish galleons seeking the Fountain of Youth, past the Mortal Kombat console, step outside, and there—just by the lazy river—you’ll find Vanilla Ice’s 9/11 memorial.
Last week, the 58-year-old rapper, born Robert Van Winkle, was giving me a tour of his mansion in Florida’s Palm Beach County. Pattering brightly and ceaselessly, he puzzled over his smart toilet (“I think it’s made for a woman to have fun and enjoy yourself on it, because it’s got buttons that I’m just thinking, This is curious”) and revealed his favorite Ninja Turtle (Raphael). We stopped at a shiny pole standing on the back patio. Before I could make any assumptions about what it was for, he explained that it had come from a fire station whose workers responded during the destruction of the World Trade Center. A wall plaque commemorated the 343 firefighters lost that day. “Never forget,” he said, before bringing me to his red-cushioned movie theater.
That Van Winkle is a patriot there can be no doubt. On Friday night, he’ll perform at the Great American State Fair in Washington, D.C.—an event that many other famous musicians dropped out of because of its association with Donald Trump. Given that Van Winkle’s fame peaked with 1990’s “Ice Ice Baby,” his status as the musical centerpiece of our semiquincentennial may seem quite random. But really, the booking makes a lot of sense. At a time when national infighting has dispelled all hopes of unified partying, Van Winkle preaches an uncomplicated view of what makes the country great, beamed in from a seemingly more carefree time.
Keep reading The Atlantic.
About the Author
Spencer Kornhaber
Spencer Kornhaber is a staff writer at The Atlantic.