{"id":782970,"date":"2026-07-06T02:24:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T02:24:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/782970\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T02:24:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T02:24:11","slug":"sammy-hagar-defends-involvement-in-freedom-250-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/782970\/","title":{"rendered":"Sammy Hagar Defends Involvement in Freedom 250 Event"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sammy Hagar<\/a> is defending his involvement in the Freedom 250 event in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

The Red Rocker was supposed to be a surprise performer during the 4th of July celebration, contributing the musical portion of the night\u2019s festivities. Thunderstorms ultimately ruined those plans, with Lynyrd Skynyrd<\/a> and country singer Gretchen Wilson among the other acts who had their sets rained out. The entire musical portion was canceled and Freedom 250 only went forward with a speech from President Donald Trump, followed by fireworks and a performance by the U.S. Air Force Band.<\/p>\n

On social media, Hagar came under fire from fans who were outraged that he\u2019d be involved in anything related to Trump.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Rockers Who Told President Trump to Stop Using Their Music<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not a political thing!\u201d Hagar insisted<\/a>. \u201cThis is the celebration of our country\u2019s birthday no matter who the president is at this time \u2014 this is our 250th birthday as a country. We\u2019ve been up! And we\u2019ve been down! And may always continue and survive. I hope that happens another 250 years. The hate the violence the prejudice hopefully will not survive. One nation under God! Hang in there all you doubters. We’ve come a long way. We have a long way to go.”<\/p>\n

Sammy Hagar Shares Planned 4th of July Speech<\/p>\n

In a separate post<\/a>, Hagar revealed that he\u2019d planned to give a heartfelt speech during his Freedom 250 performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was so excited to present this speech to the world at the beginning of the Van Halen song \u2018Right Now,\u2019\u201d the singer noted. \u201cFor those of you that had seen shows leading up to the Fourth of July event I had been practicing every night trying to get it right.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE: All 48 Sammy Hagar-Era Van Halen Songs Ranked Worst to Best<\/a><\/p>\n

The Red Rocker shared an image of the handwritten speech he was going to give, which said the following:<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now we are celebrating our country\u2019s 250th birthday & right now would be a good time to reunite this country. Come together right now. Stop the violence. Stop the hate. Right now is a good time to show some love & respect to our fellow brothers & sisters. Let\u2019s not be prejudiced. Let\u2019s all come together right now. Remember United We Stand, Divided We Fall. All we need is love! Right here, right now \u2014 Happy Birthday, America!\u201d<\/p>\n

Hagar will head to England for a run of performances beginning July 6. He\u2019ll return to Las Vegas for another installment of the Best of All Worlds residency in September.<\/p>\n

Artists Wearing the American Flag<\/p>\n

See rock’s biggest stars sporting the red, white and blue. <\/p>\n

Gallery Credit: Matthew Wilkening, UCR<\/p>\n