Country artist Martina McBride drops out of your supposedly apolitical “Great American State Fair”? No problem: The FBI director has one on speed dial. Kash Patel’s girlfriend, Alexis Wilkins, has signed on to be a “featured performer” at Donald Trump’s Freedom 250 celebration, which is slated to begin June 25, after McBride, Morris Day and the Time, Young MG, Bret Michaels, and more all bailed when they reportedly discovered the event wasn’t the nonpartisan celebration they were promised. Wilkins will join the remaining lineup of Lee Greenwood, tenor Christopher Macchio, and … Trump himself? It’s somewhat unclear exactly what’s in store, though there will be lots of trucks.
Wilkins announced her performance Tuesday on X, writing that it was a “great honor” for her to appear, and was quickly criticized for potential ethical violations. She responded by claiming that she has “been a country music artist for years now. I have had a successful career in both music and commentary/strategy,” and that she is not accepting a payment “for this great honor.” Wilkins, who also has a career as a conservative commentator, 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.”
So, in the spirit of Wilkins’ clear desire for accurate storytelling, how true is any of that? Yes, Wilkins has been a country-music artist for some years now, with releases dating back to 2015 on her Instagram that featured, spoiler alert, American-flag cover art. What constitutes a “successful career” is debatable. Raised in Arkansas, she graduated from Belmont University in Nashville in 2020 and was signed to WME, as well as the management company AMG, according to American Songwriter. A video from around that time of local news show Today in Nashville features her and two band members (one playing a cajón) performing at Plaza Mariachi, a beloved gathering space for the local immigrant community that went on to suffer a financial hit during Trump’s 2025 ICE Raids.
Her official debut single, “Stand,” was released in 2022, but there are other songs available that don’t quite possess the same “patriotic” bent she underwent when she met her biggest champion: Patel.
“I recently met Alexis at an event in Nashville and immediately gravitated to her articulate patriotism and talent,” Patel said in a press release serviced to music media in 2022. “It is voices like hers that resonate beyond the airwaves. A voice with a heart and soul, with a message for all Americans. Please join us in welcoming Alexis Wilkins into our family and download ‘Stand.’”
The song was debuted on Truth Social and Rumble, and billed as the “first single from her 2023 release” (her EP, Grit, did indeed come out that year, however it did not actually include “Stand”). Wilkins and Patel began to date around the same time — was her song “Heaven in a Stetson” about her new amour? Who’s to say, but despite a sizable streaming bump that came with her boyfriend’s new position, none of her songs have yet to even approach a million streams. For context, McBride’s “Independence Day” has about 94 million streams and is growing. More recently, Wilkins has been focused on political commentary and is active on social media. Sample post: “Juneteenth is great because it’s a day we can all take a moment and remember that republicans marched in and forced democrats to stop enslaving people.”
Wilkins has not released a new song since 2023’s “Quite Like Whiskey,” around the time a press release boasted that “while she lives in the world of classic country with a modern twist, she has been getting demand to put out songs she’s put up online, planning to soon release a batch of music that feels most true to her.” Said “batch” is nowhere to be seen, but those who may get a real itch for more of Wilkins after her America 250 appearance, you can catch her at the first-of-the-day slot at the upcoming Windy City Smokeout in Chicago, kicking off a lineup of entirely white men.
