Danger Close with Brian O'Leary

Danger Close with Brian O'Leary

Fun Busters

The selective outrage of the perpetually aggrieved

Brian O'Leary's avatar
Brian O'Leary
Jun 10, 2026
∙ Paid

First, it was has-been musical acts pulling out of the America250 Great American State Fair festivities.

Performers, including Bret Michaels, The Commodores, Morris Day, C+C Music Factory, and Martina McBride —whose “Independence Day” used to be Sean Hannity’s AM radio theme song— all removed themselves from the lineup, claiming that the event had become too partisan.

Now we’re left with one-hit wonders Lee Greenwood and Vanilla Ice.

Last Thursday, President Trump announced on Truth Social, “We will have the fabulous Lee Greenwood introducing me with what has turned out to be one of the Greatest Hits of all time, GOD BLESS THE U.S.A.”

Now, don’t take this the wrong way, but if I never hear that painfully overplayed, 42-year-old song again…

Even Bill Maher called out the deserters, saying that their decision makes it look like Democrats “don’t really love America.”

On Friday’s episode of HBO’s “Real Time,” Maher said, “This is a question about what looks best for the Democrats, because I don’t think that looks good.”

“It looks like you are just what people say about you, you don’t really love America,” he continued. “It looks [like] you think Trump is more important than the country itself.”

And if the underwhelming and eroding concert roster weren’t bad enough, now we’ve got two retirees with too much time on their hands suing to stop the June 14 MMA fights from being held on the South Lawn.

Danger Close with Brian O'Leary is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to Danger Close with Brian O'Leary to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2026 Brian O'Leary · Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start your SubstackGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture