Trump's Great American State Fair opens with melted ice cream, empty booths

[riversedge]

Trump's Great American State Fair opens with melted ice cream, empty booths
https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/trumps-great-american-state-fair-222820712.html


Michelle Del Rey , USA TODAY

Updated Fri, June 26, 2026 at 5:28 PM CDT


WASHINGTON – The Great American State Fair is underway at the National Mall to mark the United States' 250th birthday. But not everything is off to such a great start.

The event has quickly faced problems including power outages, melting ice cream – and a lack of representation from states that declined to send delegations.

While organizers assured visitors all parts of the nation would be represented, at least 10 states and territories refused to participate, with many citing the price tag to send staff to the 16-day event as their reason for opting out.

Booths for Connecticut, Oregon, Washington, Maine, Alaska, the U.S. Virgin Islands featured just backdrops and chairs or carpets...................

Though Massachusetts declined to send staff, Donna, 72, a retired teacher from Western Massachusetts who asked to only use her first name, decided to take matters into her own hands. She drove nine hours from her home, bringing cases of maple syrup and kids' coloring books from the Massachusetts Maple Producers Association to volunteer at her state's booth. She told USA TODAY she's the only volunteer from her state and is working from roughly 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. local time each day................................

Trump’s “Great American State Fair” looks like a county fair that lost its funding halfway through construction.

I love this for him.

— Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline.com) 2026-06-27T01:25:31.362Z

[riversedge]

1. 10s of people attend Trump's Great American State Fair on the National Mall

10s of people attend Trump's Great American State Fair on the National Mall

10s of people attend Trump's Great American State Fair on the National Mall

— Molly Ploofkins (@mollyploofkins.bsky.social) 2026-06-26T01:30:21.408Z

[riversedge]

2. Of Course a Confederate Flag Showed Up at the Great American State Fair #CivilWarMemory

‪Kevin M. Levin‬
‪@civilwarmemory.bsky.social‬
· 51m
Of Course a Confederate Flag Showed Up at the Great American State Fair #CivilWarMemory #America250
open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...

Of Course a Confederate Flag Showed Up at the Great American State Fair #CivilWarMemory #America250
open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...

— Kevin M. Levin (@civilwarmemory.bsky.social) 2026-06-27T11:27:28.581Z

[riversedge]

3. BREAKING: Kash Patel's girlfriend will be opening for Algae at Trump's Freedom 250 Great American State Fair

BREAKING: Kash Patel’s girlfriend will
be opening for Algae at Trump’s Freedom 250 Great American State Fair

BREAKING: Kash Patel’s girlfriend will
be opening for Algae at Trump’s Freedom 250 Great American State Fair

— Rex Huppke (@rexhuppke.bsky.social) 2026-06-24T03:36:52.689Z

[riversedge]

4. Trump's "Great American State Fair" after ONE day:

Trump’s “Great American State Fair” after ONE day:

❌ Power outage melted the ice cream
❌ Ferris wheel broke down
❌ 10 states boycotted
❌ Crowd bailed during Trump’s speech

Trump’s “Great American State Fair” after ONE day:

❌ Power outage melted the ice cream
❌ Ferris wheel broke down
❌ 10 states boycotted
❌ Crowd bailed during Trump’s speech

He can’t even run a county fair. 🎪

#USDemocracy
#Pinks

newrepublic.com/post/212395/...

— Marie 🇨🇦 (@pawbaby2.bsky.social) 2026-06-26T18:56:32.943Z

[Blue Owl]

12. I can't believe people pay her Kash to open that yap

[Lovie777]

5. Bill Maher while living the life of luxury need to STFU about patriotism............

Last edited Sat Jun 27, 2026, 09:24 AM - Edit history (1)

We the People economically, emotionally are traumatize because of people like shithole, the republican party and the likes of Bill Maher telling us about who is a patriot.

What happened to "freedom, democracy, and liberty" the beacon of the Statue of Liberty.

[riversedge]

6. Trump EMBARRASSED by crowd's MASS EXODUS from his 'Great American State Fair' speech

Trump EMBARRASSED by crowd's MASS EXODUS from his 'Great American State Fair' speech

Jun 25, 2026 #trumpspeech #rally #freedom250

After multiple musical artists pulled out of his Great American State Fair, Trump tried to save the event by inserting himself as the headliner, only to be met with a stream of attendees leaving in the middle of his speech. Nicolle Wallace is joined by The Bulwark's Jared Poland for discussion.

[riversedge]

7. A cow named Melania made an appearance at the opening day of Freedom250's Great America State Fair on the National Mall.

The Washington Post
@washingtonpost
·
2h
A cow named Melania made an appearance at the opening day of Freedom250’s Great America State Fair on the National Mall.

“We thought Melania would be a good idea because it’s the First Lady’s name and the hair colors kinda match,” said Piper Stolipher.

Link to tweet

?s=20

[MustLoveBeagles]

16. Poor cow

[Goonch]

8. ;-{) THIS

[riversedge]

9. "President Trump's Great American State Fair is a paradise where we are free to worship as we please."

Gary Peterson 🇺🇸
@GaryPetersonUSA
President Trump’s Great American State Fair is a paradise where we are free to worship as we please.

With the blessings of our leader, nothing will stop us from winning the Star Spangled belching contest after pounding 20 brewskis. #Freedom250

Link to tweet

?s=20

[riversedge]

10. Baptism at the the Great American State Fair

CHARLIE COTTON @hicharliecotton
Baptism at the the Great American State Fair

Link to tweet

?s=20

Link to tweet

?s=20

[agingdem]

11. When I was a child , twice a year a sketchy carnival would show up

overnight in a parking lot… Ferris wheel, kiddie rides, cotton candy/hot dog kiosks…and within a week the whole set-up was gone…as a kid living in a small town this was a treat…in retrospect, the rides were death traps, the food toxic..and yet, this fly-by-night family run carnival was more professional and inviting than Trump’s everything-was-better-in-the-1950’s entertainment garbage…

[riversedge]

13. 1h Trump's Great American Frye Festival is really sad. Move over Loretta Lynn.

Hoodlum 🇺🇸
@NotHoodlum
·
1h
Trump’s Great American Frye Festival is really sad. Move over Loretta Lynn.

Link to tweet

?s=20

[riversedge]

14. Prize Hog Drops Out Of Great American State Fair Due To Event's Political Nature..........

Prize Hog Drops Out Of Great American State Fair Due To Event’s Political Nature https://theonion.com/prize-hog-drops-out-of-great-american-state-fair-due-to-events-political-nature/

— The Onion (@theonion.com) 2026-06-26T21:30:05.86134289Z

[riversedge]

15. I guess no one at the Great American Fair wants to listen to the Jesus music on the Mall

Link to tweet

?s=20

Link to tweet

?s=20

[LetMyPeopleVote]

17. MaddowBlog-Trump wants people to 'appreciate' his Great American State Fair flop

The president is looking for public gratitude in the wake of failure. He is likely to wait a long while.

It’s a problem that Trump’s “Great American State Fair” is an embarrassing flop.

Watching him ask people to “appreciate” his failure, however, makes the problem worse.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-06-30T20:15:06.252Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/great-american-state-fair-2026-trump-flop

When Trump headlined his own event last week to kick off the festivities, turnout was abysmal, and many attendees were seen leaving in the middle of the president’s campaign-style speech.

In the days that followed, the troubles intensified. NOTUS reported:

The 110-foot-tall Ferris wheel, a main attraction at the Great American State Fair for the country’s 250th anniversary, shut down for a couple of hours due to lack of power. The ice cream melted, but Iowa’s butter cow survived. And a display of the Confederate flag was removed from North Carolina’s booth after Gov. Josh Stein condemned the vendor for putting it up.[/blockquote]

The same report referred to “power outages” and “almost-empty or understaffed booths” before adding, “Rodeos and baby farm animals drew crowds but the fair appeared sparsely attended; there were no lines to get in, the lawn was fairly void of people and entertainers outnumbered guests at points.”

....Fox News has done its part to try to promote the gathering, even broadcasting live from the fair, but that apparently hasn’t helped. It’s easy to see the absence of attendees behind the on-air hosts and guests.

Every Fox News live shot today from Trump's post-rapture-like fair on the National Mall has been hilarious. Here's a supercut:

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-06-29T21:12:57.959Z

And did I mention that the event features a poorly made replica of the “triumphal” arch that Trump is so excited about? Because that’s an issue, too.

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

.....But it’s not quite that simple. For one thing, he’s the one who helped turned the event into a partisan affair. For another, he’s also the one urging people to “appreciate” his failure.