Fame
Only one of these men has been able to book Bruce Springsteen.
By
Heather Schwedel
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June 18, 2026 5:20 PM
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There’s no reason why the opening of Barack Obama’s presidential library and the Freedom 250 concert series couldn’t both have been perfectly successful events. Though they’re around the same time, they don’t technically conflict: The so-called Obamalisk opened Thursday in Chicago with a onetime kickoff party, whereas the concerts were scheduled to take place throughout June and July. This needn’t have been a zero-sum, Bride Wars –style competition: There were more than enough performers, prestigious guests, and pomp and circumstance to go around. And yet the library opening versus the semiquincentennial capitol celebration has become Bride Wars all the same, with the success of one of the events (guess which one) throwing into sharp relief the failures of the other. Sorry, President Trump—Obama has embarrassed you once again.
For the past month or so, if you heard anything about Freedom 250, it likely related to all the artists dropping out of it : Country singer Martina McBride, rock musician Bret Michaels, and hip-hop artists Young MC were among the acts who announced that they would not perform at the series after initially signing on to do so. Many artists shared that they were told that the event would be bipartisan and dropped out when they found out otherwise. Ever the diplomat, Donald Trump responded by calling the artists who chose to withdraw “third-rate” and suggested he might hold some kind of rally instead.
While I have heard of McBride and Michaels (though I thought he was a wrestler maybe? Different Bret I guess), which puts them ahead of most of the artists at the All-American Halftime Show back in February , respectfully, it’s not like they were the most impressive group of artists to begin with. They were not exactly Stevie Wonder or Bruce Springsteen. Wonder and Springsteen, by the way, are who Obama booked to perform at the grand opening of the Barack Obama Presidential Center, along with Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, and Christina Aguilera, household names all. Now, I’m not trying to claim Wonder and Springsteen are the height of cool—these artists are boomer-approved picks, and neither event landed Olivia Rodrigo or anyone actual young people probably have any affinity for. Still, one group is clearly superior to the other, popularity and prestige-wise. And that probably really bothers our celebrity-obsessed president, the same man who recently tried to close the Kennedy Center when he couldn’t get anyone cool to perform there.
Trump hasn’t been quiet about his disdain for Obama’s center over the past few months as its opening drew closer. As the Washington Post has pointed out , he called the building “not too pretty” and a “total disaster”; he also posted an image depicting it as an oversize trash can . If he hasn’t raged about Obama’s opening party on Truth Social by the time you read this, expect him to do so any minute now. I get it. It must hurt when all the cool kids decide to skip your party to go to the other guy’s party, except your party wasn’t even at the same time and they totally could have gone to both if they wanted to. (Obama had ex-Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Joe Biden at his opening as well; I somehow doubt we’ll see them at Freedom 250.) It too must hurt when everyone is oohing and ahhing over someone else’s panoramic views and $850 million price tag when meanwhile you’re desperately trying to make the Reflecting Pool look less green . Not to spoil anything, but at the end of Bride Wars , which is a pretty terrible movie, Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson’s characters find a way to be friends again. Trump may have skipped his own son’s wedding , but what’s slightly tragic is that in his heart of hearts, to the extent that he has one, I’m sure he would love nothing more than knock back a Diet Coke while surrounded by A-listers with him at Obama’s opening. Too bad that he’ll settle for ruining America’s birthday instead.
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Barack Obama
Celebrities
Donald Trump
Politics
Bruce Springsteen
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