Alexis Wilkins sang the national anthem at Donald Trump’s Great American State Fair in D.C. on Wednesday and then pushed back on claims that Kash Patel got her the booking. She said she was invited on her own accord and was not taking payment for the performance.
Great American State Fair in D.C.
Wilkins, 27, is a Nashville-based aspiring country music singer who started dating Patel in early 2023. She announced the D.C. gig one day earlier, then performed at the president’s Great American State Fair before criticism spread online about how she got the slot.
Trump used the sparsely attended event to tell MAGA supporters to turn out for his July 4 rally on the National Mall. The performance placed Wilkins in the middle of a public dispute over whether the appearance came from her own music work or from her relationship with FBI Director Kash Patel.
Wilkins and Sara Higdon
Wilkins responded to a post from Sara Higdon by saying, “Let’s just get a few things straight, because this is long overdue,” and describing her “successful career in both music and commentary/strategy.” She also said she was “invited to sing this anthem on my own accord” and was not “accepting payment for this great honor.”
She added, “I’m no longer accepting false narratives and total sham accusations that diminish my hard work and earned accomplishments, so please expect this kind of response to continue,” setting up a public defense that put her own words against the criticism.
Freedom250 funds
Wilkins also said neither the event nor the other celebrations under Trump’s Freedom250 efforts were being funded by taxpayers. That claim ran into a published report that the Trump-created nonprofit behind the celebrations has received approximately $80 million in taxpayer funds, a gap that keeps the funding question at the center of the booking dispute.
Trump’s July 4 rally on the National Mall is the next named date in the sequence. For readers watching the fallout, the unresolved issue is how Wilkins was selected for the D.C. performance.
