US President Donald Trump says he is considering cancelling concerts planned for Washington DC’s National Mall to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary after a string of artists withdrew from the event.

The concerts were planned as part of the larger Great American State ‌Fair, a 16-day event running from June 25 to July 10.

Organisers said the fair, organised by the Freedom 250 group, would stretch on the National Mall from the US Capitol to the Washington Monument, with concert stages, state pavilions, exhibits, rides and other attractions spread ‌across the Mall.

But the ‌musical line-up ⁠has been hit by cancellations.

On Friday, Bret ​Michaels, the lead singer of the rock band Poison, became the fifth performer to withdraw, saying that the event was not the non-partisan celebration that he thought it would be.

Organisers have not publicly detailed the reasons for the departures although the exits have raised questions about ⁠the viability of the event as originally envisioned.

“I understand artists are getting ‘the yips’ having to do with their performance on Wednesday,” Trump said in a post ​on Truth Social on Saturday, suggesting the concerts may no longer be necessary ​if performers continued to ‌back out.

Trump says artists have ‘the yips’ about performing. Photo: AAP

He floated the possibility of giving a speech on the National Mall ​instead, portraying himself as a more powerful draw than any musical act.

“The fact is that I am, according to many, the Number One Attraction anywhere in the World,” ​Trump ​wrote.

He said he got “much larger ​audiences than Elvis in his prime” and “does so ‌without a guitar”.

Trump said he was “ordering my Representatives to look at the feasibility of doing an AMERICA IS BACK Rally”.

Freedom 250 is a public-private partnership created by the White House to co-ordinate celebrations of the United States’ 250th anniversary alongside federal agencies.

It remains unclear whether replacement ​musicians will be recruited, or whether Trump’s proposal to substitute a rally for the performances ​is being seriously considered ⁠by organisers.