// KOTAKU — GAMING
The Internet Can’t Stop Mocking Trump’s Terrible State Fair
A few days into President Donald Trump’s Great American State Fair, it’s clear it sucks. It doesn’t help that the whole event looks incredibly cheap, poorly managed, and dirty. I could say the same thing about most state fairs I’ve been to, so I guess mission accomplished. This is indeed a state fair. The only difference is that this one is a ghost town.
The Great American State Fair is a 16-day-long “national exposition” featuring a Ferris wheel, state-themed pavilions, food vendors, and various speakers and live performances. It was organized by Freedom 250, a task force created by President Trump to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the writing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026. Don’t get this event or Freedom 250 confused with America250, a bipartisan group created a decade ago by Congress to plan and celebrate the very same milestone. That group is planning a nationwide block party and is throwing a big charity event in Los Angeles next month that will feature The Smashing Pumpkins and Queen Latifah. Meanwhile, Trump’s Freedom 250 has Vanilla Ice and uh… a giant, empty lawn.
The center of Freedom 250’s celebration is the Great American State Fair, happening right now in Washington, DC, which is ironically not a state. Over the last few days since it opened, the event has suffered power outages, melting ice cream, and shockingly low attendance. Especially bad for all the people who still perform Ice Ice Baby at karaoke, Vanilla Ice’s concert was canceled and the fair even closed early one night due to bad weather. Dang.
Everyone is talking about Trump’s mock up arch at the Great American State Fair, so I filmed it from top to bottom and front to back for everyone who can’t see it in person.
— amanda moore 🐢 (@noturtlesoup17.bsky.social) 2026-06-28T21:11:48.282Z
It has been a shitshow, with photos and videos of the event showing bizarre and sparsely attended attractions. But when some of the attractions include a few empty booths representing states like Alaska, Maine, and Hawaii, who didn’t participate, and a chance to hang out with the military and police, I’m not surprised more people aren’t showing up to enjoy all of that in °95+ weather.
I finally made it to the Great American State Fair. The columns on this fake building are something to behold.
— amanda moore 🐢 (@noturtlesoup17.bsky.social) 2026-06-27T22:59:51.083Z
And after putting up with the heat, you can visit the North Carolina booth and see a Confederate flag that the state’s governor isn’t happy about. The booth is managed by a private company because the state didn’t want to spend money on it.
TMZ filmed a stage event hosted by Dr. Oz, who is somehow the current administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and when he and former Superman actor Dean Cain talked about how many people were at the fair, the TMZ camera operator turned to an empty field in front of the stage. Rough stuff.