President Donald Trump’s Great American State Fair is shutting down Friday night after a two-week run that was marked by several controversies, including cancellations from musicians and weather-related closures.
But, few saw the problems first-hand as attendance was sparse nearly every day of the event.
The Great American State Fair opened June 25 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., as part of the capital’s celebrations for America’s 250th anniversary. Organizers advertised a number of attractions, including a 110-foot Ferris wheel, flyovers, movie screenings and a scaled-down replica of Trump’s 250-foot Triumphal Arch.
But in the weeks leading up to its grand opening, multiple musical guests dropped out of performing at the fair, with some citing political concerns. Multiple Democratic-led states also opted not to send delegations to the event.
Once the fair debuted, it was sparsely populated and had empty, wide-open spaces, The Independent previously reported. And even though Trump claimed that 45,000 people showed up for his opening-day speech, it appeared there were “nowhere near” that many attendees, according to NBC News.
Nearly every day of the fair, there were news reports showing the empty fields and booths. Visitors walked by and seemed less than enthused by the offerings. CNN’s Kaitlan Collins pointed out the fair’s attendance didn’t quite live up to the “hype.” CNN also reported that Trump was “livid” over the crowd size for his speech on opening day.
“For a president who often fixates on crowd size, so far the fair on Washington’s National Mall hasn’t exactly lived up to the hype,” Collins said in a July 2 report.
And social media users noted that footage from Fox News appeared to show low attendance on opening day.
“INCREDIBLE SCENES ON FOX as there is LITERALLY NOT A SOUL at Trump’s fair, which has now been open for 15 minutes,” journalist Aaron Rupar wrote on X.
At times, Washington’s weather also forced the organizers to close the event down. The fair temporarily shut down due to triple-digit temperatures last Friday, and on July 4, it was evacuated due to heavy storms. Severe weather also forced guests to evacuate on Thursday night.
Last week, The Independent stopped by the fair and spoke with attendees, including some who weren’t too impressed with the programming. One Washington resident said: “I’ve been to state fairs all throughout the United States. This is terrible.”
“I’m totally underwhelmed,” a Maryland resident added.
But others were happy with the festivities, including one couple who called the fair “amazing” and said they attended because they “love this country.”
Despite the hiccups, Trump declared that “everybody” was “loving” the fair in a Truth Social post last week. He also hit out at his Democratic predecessors, former Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama.
“Do you think people appreciate what a fantastic job we did in building and operating the Great American State Fair at the National Mall, packed with happy people, and everybody loving it? Ask yourself this simple question, ‘DO YOU THINK THAT OBUMA OR SLEEPY JOE BIDEN COULD HAVE DONE IT?’ THE ANSWER IS NO,” he wrote on June 29.
