The opening weekend of the Great American State Fair in Washington, D.C., was, to put it simply, miserable. It was extremely muggy, with rain pouring down seemingly every hour. A child rolled around in the grass, crying and screaming, âI. WANT. TO. GO. HOME!!!â Creedâs âHigherâ blared over the loudspeakers, and a sparse crowd milled about the various exhibitions. The bare-bones setupâflimsy, fake two-dimensional columns that looked like something Wile E. Coyote would run into while chasing the Road Runnerâleft much to be desired, as Americaâs 250th anniversary was celebrated with kitsch and ennui rather than grandeur and appreciation. More than anything, the event lacked energyâand people. There wasnât any line or wait to get in. The vibe was more conference-like than celebratory, and the state exhibits varied wildly in effort and presentation. Utah and Guam had particularly involved setups, while others like South Carolina felt totally sterile. Connecticut and Maine shared a space that looked like the waiting room of a pediatricianâs office, while Hawaii and Alaska didnât have anyone attending to visitors. There were $25 pretzels, an AI George Washington, an interactive âLoyalist or Patriot?â test, and a whiteboard wall full of messages from attendees, one of which read âa felon and predator resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave!!ââIt feels more like a campaign event than a fair,â said M., a D.C resident who didnât want to be named and was visiting with his wife and son. âThere was potential here. I think that the state exhibits they had, some of them were very well done, others didnât really have much effort put into them.⌠My four-year-old enjoyed the carousel, but I think that if this was done a little bit more thoughtfully it couldâve been really fun. Iâve been going to state fairs for most of my life, Iâm from Minnesota. And so seeing what a really thought-out, well-done state fair looks likeâitâs an incredible experience.â Bit of a flimsy set up at the Great American State Fair pic.twitter.com/4H1YauQgp4â Malcolm Ferguson (@malc_ferg) June 29, 2026âKind of disappointing they donât have anywhere to sit, especially if you get foodâyouâre just standing,â said Virginia resident Anita, as we were being ushered out of the ârain-or-shineâ event Sunday afternoon due to the weather. âRight now, weâre being postponed because of lightning. Where are we all supposed to go? We drove two hours, weâre not just gonna go jump in the car. Itâs kinda sad thereâs not a backup plan.â âI think if [Trump] wanted to make a bigger splash, he shouldâve gotten Disney, or somebody who knows how to do this,â said Haven, another D.C. resident attending the fair. While many states and artists opted out of the event, corporations did not. The presence of companies like Northrop Grumman, United Health Group, Chime, and others was very apparent.âI understand that people are advertising here, that thereâs sponsors,â said a visitor named Ryan. âComing in and seeing SpaceX, or like Micron was kind of like, âOh, I wasnât expecting that.â But itâs America, so maybe I shouldâve.â When asked about defining American moments of their lifetimes, attendeesâ answers were about as bleak as the scene, as almost all the answers included 9/11, Covid-19, and pretty much every war the U.S has been in. âThe Revolutionary War, World War II, the Vietnam War, the Iraq War,â said Haven. âItâs a shame you think of war first.â Of course, not everyone was underwhelmed by the fair.âI know how much [President Trump] loves the country, so Iâm not the least bit surprised that theyâre going all out,â said Nicki Hannigan, in her seventies, who came all the way from Grand Rapids, Michigan, with her husband, Jack.âThereâs not a weed in this grass!â Jack said. âI donât know if anybodyâs noticed that, but that takes some doing. If the administration can do that well, they can do a lotta stuff well.â âWellâ is relative, as the event has been shrouded in tumult as Trump took over. What was originally supposed to be a weeks-long blockbuster festival to celebrate the nation turned into a politically charged event, where even B- and C-list artists like Flo Rida, Milli Vanilli, Vanilla Ice, and the Commodores dropped out. Soon, nearly a dozen states did too, as it became more and more obvious that Trump was using this event for partisan purposes. As everyone bailed, Trump petulantly declared the fair would instead be kicked off with a rally that he would headlineâbut even that didnât get much of a turnout. That timeline of chaos still felt prescient, as the haphazard, thrown-together nature of the event stood out more than anything. And that distracted from what people were actually there for: to celebrate the anniversary of their country.Some attendees were able to acknowledge Trumpâs heavy-handed involvement in the 250th while trying to remain appreciative of what the event represented. âI donât really take [Trump] into consideration. Heâs gonna be gone in three years, dead in ten,â said Scott. âHeâs not gonna take away my joy of this event. Heâs the president, but heâs not Godâeven though he thinks he is. I wasnât gonna come to this, but then I thought, âYa know, Iâm not gonna let him take it away.ââ I wish I shared that optimism.