Three days in and Trump’s State Fair already ‘falling apart at the seams’: commentator
Alexander Willis
June 27, 2026 ALTERNET
Crew members take a break during the Great American State Fair on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 25, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
Three days into the 16-day Great American State Fair organized by the President Donald Trump-linked group Freedom 250, the event is already “falling apart at the seams,” argued prominent liberal commentator and podcast host Adam Mockler on Saturday.
“Just like everything else Donald Trump touches, this Great American Fair is falling apart at the seams,” Mockler said in a video published on social media Saturday. “We are at day three of his 16-day fair that is funded by our taxpayer dollars to the tune of $80 million, and it’s falling apart.”
Critics have already noted what they say are small crowd sizes and near-empty exhibits, but several other issues appeared to plague the event within its first few days, including power failures that stalled a Ferris wheel and melted ice cream.
“The exhibits are entirely empty, the fields have nobody in them. Even the main attraction, the Ferris wheel, ran out of power last night and was shut down all evening,” Mockler said.
“We have melting ice cream, we have not enough tables so kids are being forced to eat on the ground. And on top of all of that, even some exhibits have a Confederate flag… I mean, it doesn’t really matter because they’re all empty anyway.”
The Great American State Fair got off to a rough start weeks before opening to the public last Thursday after performing artists bailed on the event upon learning of its ties to Trump. The president would go on to attack the artists for “getting ‘the yips’” and floated himself as a suitable replacement for the musical acts.
Alexander Willis
June 27, 2026
Crew members take a break during the Great American State Fair on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 25, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
Three days into the 16-day Great American State Fair organized by the President Donald Trump-linked group Freedom 250, the event is already “falling apart at the seams,” argued prominent liberal commentator and podcast host Adam Mockler on Saturday.
“Just like everything else Donald Trump touches, this Great American Fair is falling apart at the seams,” Mockler said in a video published on social media Saturday. “We are at day three of his 16-day fair that is funded by our taxpayer dollars to the tune of $80 million, and it’s falling apart.”
Critics have already noted what they say are small crowd sizes and near-empty exhibits, but several other issues appeared to plague the event within its first few days, including power failures that stalled a Ferris wheel and melted ice cream.
“The exhibits are entirely empty, the fields have nobody in them. Even the main attraction, the Ferris wheel, ran out of power last night and was shut down all evening,” Mockler said.
“We have melting ice cream, we have not enough tables so kids are being forced to eat on the ground. And on top of all of that, even some exhibits have a Confederate flag… I mean, it doesn’t really matter because they’re all empty anyway.”
The Great American State Fair got off to a rough start weeks before opening to the public last Thursday after performing artists bailed on the event upon learning of its ties to Trump. The president would go on to attack the artists for “getting ‘the yips’” and floated himself as a suitable replacement for the musical acts.
Trump dragged over low turnout to Great State Fair: ‘Seen more people at my local diner’
Alexander Willis
June 27, 2026 RAW ST0RY
Visitors walk the grounds at the Great American State Fair on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 25, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Critics pounced on President Donald Trump Saturday after video emerged that appeared to show less-than-anticipated crowd sizes at the Great American State Fair.
Organized by the Trump-linked group Freedom 250, the Great American State Fair officially got underway on Thursday, but had already stumbled weeks earlier when performers pulled out en masse after learning of its ties to Trump. In the wake of the mass exodus of artists, Trump floated himself as a suitable replacement.
As of Saturday, the fair was described by The Atlantic’s Kelsey Ables as an event with “holograms, free Frosties and a lot of Donald Trump,” but its crowd sizes drew even more attention from countless political commentators.
“I've seen more people at my local diner,” noted information technology expert Carl Sizelove, who runs the popular political commentary account “Badd Company” on X, in response to video of the fair that showed a sparsely populated National Mall.
MeidasTouch reporter Aaron Parnas compared the fair to the infamous Fyre Festival, a 2017 music event that ended up as “the world’s biggest festival flop” and landed its creator behind bars. Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) took the small crowds as a sign that “people aren’t very MAGA after all.”
And Kyle Kulinski, a prominent progressive political commentator and podcast host, argued that the fair’s crowd sizes represented the United States’ deterioration under Trump.
“We had a good run but clearly we didn't make it to 250,” Kulinski wrote Saturday in a social media post on X to his nearly 560,000 followers.
Alexander Willis
June 27, 2026
RAW ST0RY
Visitors walk the grounds at the Great American State Fair on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 25, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Critics pounced on President Donald Trump Saturday after video emerged that appeared to show less-than-anticipated crowd sizes at the Great American State Fair.
Organized by the Trump-linked group Freedom 250, the Great American State Fair officially got underway on Thursday, but had already stumbled weeks earlier when performers pulled out en masse after learning of its ties to Trump. In the wake of the mass exodus of artists, Trump floated himself as a suitable replacement.
As of Saturday, the fair was described by The Atlantic’s Kelsey Ables as an event with “holograms, free Frosties and a lot of Donald Trump,” but its crowd sizes drew even more attention from countless political commentators.
“I've seen more people at my local diner,” noted information technology expert Carl Sizelove, who runs the popular political commentary account “Badd Company” on X, in response to video of the fair that showed a sparsely populated National Mall.
MeidasTouch reporter Aaron Parnas compared the fair to the infamous Fyre Festival, a 2017 music event that ended up as “the world’s biggest festival flop” and landed its creator behind bars. Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) took the small crowds as a sign that “people aren’t very MAGA after all.”
And Kyle Kulinski, a prominent progressive political commentator and podcast host, argued that the fair’s crowd sizes represented the United States’ deterioration under Trump.
“We had a good run but clearly we didn't make it to 250,” Kulinski wrote Saturday in a social media post on X to his nearly 560,000 followers.
Visitors walk the grounds at the Great American State Fair on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 25, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Critics pounced on President Donald Trump Saturday after video emerged that appeared to show less-than-anticipated crowd sizes at the Great American State Fair.
Organized by the Trump-linked group Freedom 250, the Great American State Fair officially got underway on Thursday, but had already stumbled weeks earlier when performers pulled out en masse after learning of its ties to Trump. In the wake of the mass exodus of artists, Trump floated himself as a suitable replacement.
As of Saturday, the fair was described by The Atlantic’s Kelsey Ables as an event with “holograms, free Frosties and a lot of Donald Trump,” but its crowd sizes drew even more attention from countless political commentators.
“I've seen more people at my local diner,” noted information technology expert Carl Sizelove, who runs the popular political commentary account “Badd Company” on X, in response to video of the fair that showed a sparsely populated National Mall.
MeidasTouch reporter Aaron Parnas compared the fair to the infamous Fyre Festival, a 2017 music event that ended up as “the world’s biggest festival flop” and landed its creator behind bars. Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) took the small crowds as a sign that “people aren’t very MAGA after all.”
And Kyle Kulinski, a prominent progressive political commentator and podcast host, argued that the fair’s crowd sizes represented the United States’ deterioration under Trump.
“We had a good run but clearly we didn't make it to 250,” Kulinski wrote Saturday in a social media post on X to his nearly 560,000 followers.
Exhibits at Trump’s State Fair documented by reporter: ‘Basically just put up some chairs’
Alexander Willis
June 27, 2026RAW STORY
A staffer works inside a tent for the state of Massachusetts at the Great American State Fair on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 25, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
Emmy Award-winning journalist Eric Flack of WUSA9, a CBS-affiliated D.C. news station, toured the Great American State Fair on the National Mall and found that the fair’s state exhibits ranged wildly in quality.
Exhibits for Connecticut and Maine, for instance, were especially empty.
“Connecticut and Maine are sharing a space and basically just put up some chairs and their state logos,” Flack said in a video he published Saturday on social media.
Some states didn’t participate in helping craft their own state exhibits at all, Flack said. North Carolina’s exhibit, for instance, had no involvement from North Carolina officials, and instead was organized by the company that built tractor trailers for Freedom 250, the organization linked to President Donald Trump that organized the fair.
“Their exhibit is a race car and some North Carolina potatoes,” Flack said, his video showing a small box of potatoes sitting on the ground.
Some states saw above-average interest among attendees, such as Arizona’s, which featured a "black light star experience" and “free cactus pens.” Most state exhibits, however, were largely informational, Flack said.
“Most of the rest of the states and territories just seemed to be using the Great American State Fair as a ‘great American visitors bureau,'” Flack said.
Critics have also noted what appears to be small crowd sizes at the fair, officially started last Thursday but stumbled weeks earlier when performers pulled out after learning of the event’s ties to Trump, who went on to tout himself as a suitable replacement.
Alexander Willis
June 27, 2026
RAW STORY
A staffer works inside a tent for the state of Massachusetts at the Great American State Fair on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 25, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
Emmy Award-winning journalist Eric Flack of WUSA9, a CBS-affiliated D.C. news station, toured the Great American State Fair on the National Mall and found that the fair’s state exhibits ranged wildly in quality.
Exhibits for Connecticut and Maine, for instance, were especially empty.
“Connecticut and Maine are sharing a space and basically just put up some chairs and their state logos,” Flack said in a video he published Saturday on social media.
Some states didn’t participate in helping craft their own state exhibits at all, Flack said. North Carolina’s exhibit, for instance, had no involvement from North Carolina officials, and instead was organized by the company that built tractor trailers for Freedom 250, the organization linked to President Donald Trump that organized the fair.
“Their exhibit is a race car and some North Carolina potatoes,” Flack said, his video showing a small box of potatoes sitting on the ground.
Some states saw above-average interest among attendees, such as Arizona’s, which featured a "black light star experience" and “free cactus pens.” Most state exhibits, however, were largely informational, Flack said.
“Most of the rest of the states and territories just seemed to be using the Great American State Fair as a ‘great American visitors bureau,'” Flack said.
Critics have also noted what appears to be small crowd sizes at the fair, officially started last Thursday but stumbled weeks earlier when performers pulled out after learning of the event’s ties to Trump, who went on to tout himself as a suitable replacement.
A Confederate flag display at the Great American State Fair in Washington, D.C. was under fire on Friday, according to reports.
The flag was part of an interactive exhibit for North Carolina and shared in a viral video shared on X by Reuben Jones, Spectrum News Washington Correspondent.
"I stopped by the North Carolina booth at the 'Great American State Fair' on the National Mall today. The state decided not to participate because of the high costs so the booth is sponsored by private orgs," Jones wrote.
His video panned around the room, showing multiple Confederate flags on television screens mounted to the display's walls.
The flag drew "unwanted attention," Jones reported for Spectrum News and elicited a response from North Carolina state officials who said the controversial flag was "unapproved."
"This display does not reflect the North Carolina that we love. America 250 is about unity and bringing our nation together. Glorifying this divisive Confederate symbol does the exact opposite. We demand the organizers stop dishonoring the flag of North Carolina," the North Carolina governor's office told Spectrum.
One of the booth sponsors, Mt. Olive Pickle Company, said it was ending its participation at the event. The company shared this statement:
"Mt. Olive Pickle Company was invited to participate in the North Carolina exhibit for the Great American State Fair in Washington, D.C., as part of America’s 250th celebration," the statement said. "We are proud of our North Carolina roots, and we agreed to be a part of an exhibit, as presented to us, that would represent the best of our great state. We were unaware that an image of the Confederate flag was included in a video as part of this exhibit, and we have withdrawn our participation. Our company stands on values of human dignity, opportunity, and freedom."
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein shared this statement with TMZ after the video went viral.
"This flag does not represent the North Carolina that we love. America 250 is about unity and bringing our nation together. We are pleased the flag that did the opposite has now been taken down. Here in Raleigh, North Carolina, we are hosting a July 4th A250 celebration that will honor the spirit of equality and freedom in the Declaration of Independence. Everyone is welcome."
America’s moral rot and open betrayal of basic decency on display at Trump's fair
Loud, loudly wrong, ignorant, excessive, might-makes-right, cruelty, armed-to-the-teeth, strutting and striding, bullying, and oh-so-tough.
Oh, so weak.
So very very weak.
So insecure, and so obviously so insecure.
Deluded like children playing at action heroes in their movie-minds, with no care or concept of the depth and breadth and complexity of actual human life in the very real world.
Except children have the capacity for growth and wonder and curiosity impossible for these calcified so-called adults running the country.
The callous selfishness of, Greed-is-good and I’m-gonna-get-mine-so-who-cares-about-anybody-else.
The cowardly myopia of, It-doesn’t-affect-me-so-what-do-I-care.
The chilling ignorance, lack of empathy, lack of humanity, lack of compassion, and lack of historical comprehension spewed in the eternal American sins of continued shameless racism and discrimination being enacted once again as a matter of brutal public policy.
And they think they’re being clever.
They especially think they’re being clever when the courts that they’ve vandalized, radicalized, and politicized officially excuse their atrocious behavior.
This time the pathetic fools declaim, Racism-is-actually-over-it’s-reverse-racism-that’s-the-problem, as they follow the timeless playbook.
And this debased ignorance becomes sanctified in the decisions of the nation’s highest court, to roll back civil rights, voting rights, human rights.
The sick, fetishized cruelty of, Good-I’m-glad-those-people-are-being-hurt-they-deserve-it.
The stone-cold pathological depravity of, Empathy-and-compassion-are-actually-bad-things.
America faces our anniversary as the world’s oldest democracy not as a celebration but a reckoning.
We must now take stock of our situation and decide whether we shall snuff out the remaining embers of our constitutional republic in sacrifice to the egomania and moral rot of the age.
A free people may vote their way out of freedom; that is a free choice, but it is also a robbery of future generations who would never then have any such choice.
This betrayal of future generations steals their birthright, the “apple of gold,” as Abraham Lincoln called it, the “political religion of our nation” enshrined in the ideals of the Declaration of Independence, and never yet fully realized, now being betrayed once again.
Consider the second sentence of the Declaration of Independence in full.
In full is key.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident…”
It begins with our fundamental equality as human beings — and therefore deserving of the same exact natural rights and dignity no matter who we are, all of us included, nobody left out, all of humanity.
The second sentence does not end at the individualistic “pursuit of happiness,” a common mistake.
It ends much later, not on the note of individualism in the introductory clause, but on the collectivism, collective interest, and supremacy of the people over the government found in its concluding lines.
Because all of this — all of our government, everything you see — is meant to be for the safety and happiness of the people, all the people. Full stop.
That’s so far from reality right now it’s a joke, and that’s where we’ve gone so catastrophically wrong.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, —That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
The introduction about the individual under the laws of nature is an extension of Lockean thought based on Thomas Aquinas based on a synthesis of Augustine of Hippo and Aristotle:
This fundamental idea that we are all, by our nature, indeed born free in nature, in the full bloom of our individual righteousness of diversity, and we only bind ourselves together voluntarily in what Rousseau called the social contract.
The Declaration acknowledges the greater truth of that bond, and its basis in both our individual natural rights and our free choice of social contract, by proclaiming that all governmental power is derived “from the consent of the governed.”
This is the contract for our collective good, where we recognize that our own narrow self-interest must have limitations to protect the interests of others and our collective interests now and into the future — even and perhaps especially for our ideological opposites — because that’s how we ensure the protection of ourselves, and aspire to liberty and justice for all.
Moreover, “whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends” — destructive of the people’s natural rights to life and liberty, meant to be secured in the bond of self-government — the people further reserve the right of supremacy over our government to do as we wish to effect our collective safety and happiness.
Put simply, all power is inherent in the people and politicians are nothing but public servants. Do not worship them, ever. They are your employees, nothing more. Hold them accountable, relentlessly.
And if politicians are only serving themselves, if they are only serving their own greed and lust for power and the moneyed elites who plunder and profiteer, and they sacrifice the public good at the altar of power and greed and ego, then they have betrayed the public trust and they are of no use to our self-government in their positions.
Past Americans spilled their blood for the rule of law now being ignored.
Past patriots gave their lives for the freedoms, liberty, and protections now being betrayed.
The birthright of future generations is at stake.
We can continue on in a hateful mess of chaos and destruction, or we can heal and build together.
That decision is before each and every one of us right now, and every day.
Ohio Capital Journal is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Ohio Capital Journal maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor David Dewitt for questions: info@ohiocapitaljournal.com.
Ohio Capital Journal
June 26, 2026
A woman on a horse carries a flag past the U.S. Capitol building during a rodeo at the opening of The Great American State Fair on the National Mall in Washington D.C., U.S., June 25, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
America greets our 250th birthday not as the last, best hope of Earth, but under a noxious cloud of broken promises, betrayed ideals, hateful discourse, public corruption, and petulant, petty public leaders peddling horrendous lies without shame.
A great bulk of everyday people are sinking in a quicksand of endless struggles, feeling desperate, helpless, hopeless, while our feckless, egomaniacal, careless, reckless ruling class showers itself in gaudy, self-obsessed, look-at-me excess.
The most vile aspects of our national character and the worst of the American stereotypes crash around our public space chewing up people’s lives and hawking them into the spittoon of our collective historical shame:
June 26, 2026
A woman on a horse carries a flag past the U.S. Capitol building during a rodeo at the opening of The Great American State Fair on the National Mall in Washington D.C., U.S., June 25, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
America greets our 250th birthday not as the last, best hope of Earth, but under a noxious cloud of broken promises, betrayed ideals, hateful discourse, public corruption, and petulant, petty public leaders peddling horrendous lies without shame.
A great bulk of everyday people are sinking in a quicksand of endless struggles, feeling desperate, helpless, hopeless, while our feckless, egomaniacal, careless, reckless ruling class showers itself in gaudy, self-obsessed, look-at-me excess.
The most vile aspects of our national character and the worst of the American stereotypes crash around our public space chewing up people’s lives and hawking them into the spittoon of our collective historical shame:
Loud, loudly wrong, ignorant, excessive, might-makes-right, cruelty, armed-to-the-teeth, strutting and striding, bullying, and oh-so-tough.
Oh, so weak.
So very very weak.
So insecure, and so obviously so insecure.
Deluded like children playing at action heroes in their movie-minds, with no care or concept of the depth and breadth and complexity of actual human life in the very real world.
Except children have the capacity for growth and wonder and curiosity impossible for these calcified so-called adults running the country.
The callous selfishness of, Greed-is-good and I’m-gonna-get-mine-so-who-cares-about-anybody-else.
The cowardly myopia of, It-doesn’t-affect-me-so-what-do-I-care.
The chilling ignorance, lack of empathy, lack of humanity, lack of compassion, and lack of historical comprehension spewed in the eternal American sins of continued shameless racism and discrimination being enacted once again as a matter of brutal public policy.
And they think they’re being clever.
They especially think they’re being clever when the courts that they’ve vandalized, radicalized, and politicized officially excuse their atrocious behavior.
This time the pathetic fools declaim, Racism-is-actually-over-it’s-reverse-racism-that’s-the-problem, as they follow the timeless playbook.
And this debased ignorance becomes sanctified in the decisions of the nation’s highest court, to roll back civil rights, voting rights, human rights.
The sick, fetishized cruelty of, Good-I’m-glad-those-people-are-being-hurt-they-deserve-it.
The stone-cold pathological depravity of, Empathy-and-compassion-are-actually-bad-things.
America faces our anniversary as the world’s oldest democracy not as a celebration but a reckoning.
We must now take stock of our situation and decide whether we shall snuff out the remaining embers of our constitutional republic in sacrifice to the egomania and moral rot of the age.
A free people may vote their way out of freedom; that is a free choice, but it is also a robbery of future generations who would never then have any such choice.
This betrayal of future generations steals their birthright, the “apple of gold,” as Abraham Lincoln called it, the “political religion of our nation” enshrined in the ideals of the Declaration of Independence, and never yet fully realized, now being betrayed once again.
Consider the second sentence of the Declaration of Independence in full.
In full is key.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident…”
It begins with our fundamental equality as human beings — and therefore deserving of the same exact natural rights and dignity no matter who we are, all of us included, nobody left out, all of humanity.
The second sentence does not end at the individualistic “pursuit of happiness,” a common mistake.
It ends much later, not on the note of individualism in the introductory clause, but on the collectivism, collective interest, and supremacy of the people over the government found in its concluding lines.
Because all of this — all of our government, everything you see — is meant to be for the safety and happiness of the people, all the people. Full stop.
That’s so far from reality right now it’s a joke, and that’s where we’ve gone so catastrophically wrong.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, —That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
The introduction about the individual under the laws of nature is an extension of Lockean thought based on Thomas Aquinas based on a synthesis of Augustine of Hippo and Aristotle:
This fundamental idea that we are all, by our nature, indeed born free in nature, in the full bloom of our individual righteousness of diversity, and we only bind ourselves together voluntarily in what Rousseau called the social contract.
The Declaration acknowledges the greater truth of that bond, and its basis in both our individual natural rights and our free choice of social contract, by proclaiming that all governmental power is derived “from the consent of the governed.”
This is the contract for our collective good, where we recognize that our own narrow self-interest must have limitations to protect the interests of others and our collective interests now and into the future — even and perhaps especially for our ideological opposites — because that’s how we ensure the protection of ourselves, and aspire to liberty and justice for all.
Moreover, “whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends” — destructive of the people’s natural rights to life and liberty, meant to be secured in the bond of self-government — the people further reserve the right of supremacy over our government to do as we wish to effect our collective safety and happiness.
Put simply, all power is inherent in the people and politicians are nothing but public servants. Do not worship them, ever. They are your employees, nothing more. Hold them accountable, relentlessly.
And if politicians are only serving themselves, if they are only serving their own greed and lust for power and the moneyed elites who plunder and profiteer, and they sacrifice the public good at the altar of power and greed and ego, then they have betrayed the public trust and they are of no use to our self-government in their positions.
Past Americans spilled their blood for the rule of law now being ignored.
Past patriots gave their lives for the freedoms, liberty, and protections now being betrayed.
The birthright of future generations is at stake.
We can continue on in a hateful mess of chaos and destruction, or we can heal and build together.
That decision is before each and every one of us right now, and every day.
Ohio Capital Journal is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Ohio Capital Journal maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor David Dewitt for questions: info@ohiocapitaljournal.com.
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