Reviews are now in: GASF is now the Fyre Festival of semiquincentennials!
The fair, formally known as the Great American State Fair, is being held on the National Mall as part of Freedom 250, a task force created by the Trump administration to oversee celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of the United States.
Weather closed the fair until 5pmET Friday.
“Loitering is not permitted in this area,” an audio recording sternly warns, as uniformed National Guard troops patrol Washington’s iconic, algae-plagued reflecting pool. “Please proceed to a designated location.”
Journalist Amanda Moore’s dystopian video, shot last weekend just steps from the Lincoln Memorial, instantly went viral—a perfect 8-second encapsulation of American democracy under Donald Trump. Amanda has spent the past 18 months documenting the chaos and brutality of the administration’s militarized takeovers and immigration raids in cities across the country. Her footage has been shocking, often horrifying. But it’s never before been quite so absurd. (Well, maybe once.)
In her latest video report for Mother Jones, Amanda takes us on a tour of the Trumpified National Mall as the nation attempts to celebrate its 250th birthday. Not far from the reflecting pool’s nanobubblers and security theater, there’s a very different scene: Trump’s Great America State Fair. When Amanda visited this marquee anniversary event, she found a dearth of visitors, a shortage of napkins, and a decaying model of the triumphal arch the president wants to build across the Potomac.
The symbolism here is about as subtle as a Jon McNaughton painting. If I hadn’t seen Amanda’s reporting, I never would have believed it was real.
Published: July 2, 2026 /s
WASHINGTON—Claiming there were strings of explosive devices planted throughout the National Mall, President Donald Trump reportedly attempted to cover up low attendance at the Great American State Fair this week by calling in a bomb threat. “There’s a series of explosives in unmarked duffel bags all across the fairgrounds, which are beautiful by the way, so you’d better evacuate everyone as fast as you can, don’t even bother stopping to count how many people there are,” Trump said from his Oval Office phone, pinching his nose in an effort to disguise his voice. “You’ll regret it big time if all the attendees, however many there may possibly be, don’t flee back to their homes this instant. This incredibly successful and beloved event is officially over!” According to sources, the president concluded the warning by casually stating his name was Sleepy Joe Biden and then hanging up the receiver.
WASHINGTON—Claiming there were strings of explosive devices planted throughout the National Mall, President Donald Trump reportedly attempt to cover up low attendance at the Great American State Fair this week by calling in a bomb threat.
— The Onion (@theonion.com) 2026-07-02T21:15:04.25782587Z
“A rather embarrassing flop,” MS Now wrote. “A big ol’ dud,” was the verdict of Slate. “To put it simply, miserable,” the New Republic ruled, while USA Today said witnessing the failure of Trump’s fair is “like watching your high school bully host a party that no one attends”.
Well for one thing, very few people seem to have been going. For another, the fair’s signature attraction, a (quite small) ferris wheel, was plagued by power cuts on the first day. And despite organizers’ claims that 56 states and territories would be represented, each given their own booths at the event, several declined to participate due to cost.
The opening ceremony was meant to be a musical extravaganza, featuring acts including Martina McBride, Bret Michaels, the Commodores, Morris Day and the Time, Young MC, and Flo Rida, but most of those performers pulled out, several saying they had been unaware the event would have a political undertone.
Instead, people attending the opening night got a performance from Trump: specifically, a campaign-style rally during which the president trotted out his usual claims about how the US is the “hottest country anywhere in the world”. (Ironically, the Virginia booth at the fair was closed on Tuesday due to extreme heat, and the fair itself was forced to close early on its second day, because of a storm.)
Things got worse when a Confederate flag had to be removed from a booth at the fair, prompting one of the sponsors to drop out. Then there was more negative publicity as people found out how much things cost at the event: $25 for a pretzel, $23 for a turkey leg, $9 for a lemonade.
MSNOW reports that NPS workers in DC were being required to wear “flair” pins that some referred to as “Vichy Pins” with a disciplinary threat if the worker resisted.
We’ll get straight to the point: The financial hardships that Daily Kos is facing this year are tough.
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