Perhaps none of President Trump’s semiquincentennial celebrations have sparked more discourse than the Great American State Fair. The much-discussed event, which ends tomorrow, started to suffer before it even began—nearly all of the scheduled musical acts jumped ship just weeks in advance, and numerous states declined to participate. Once the fair gates actually opened, preliminary programming hiccups evolved into full-fledged Curb Your Enthusiasm plot points: Power outages on opening day disabled the Ferris wheel and spoiled much of the available food, a MAGA influencer was arrested for allegedly cranking his hog during a female circus troupe performance, and a portion of the main stage literally collapsed, morphing into a projectile that narrowly missed the skulls of several young dancers. Crowds were slim for much of the run—in part due to record-breaking heat, which shut operations down a couple of times—save for July 4 itself, when stormy weather foiled the fair’s best attendance day yet.
To critics, these problems registered as additional evidence of the administration’s incompetence. I went on opening day, which was not super exciting despite my highest hopes, and many social media commenters who surely never planned to go anyway thanked me for “taking one for the team.” Some lamented what could have been—the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, for instance, which Trump’s Freedom 250 task force displaced in favor of its own fair. Still, several others labeled me “anti-American,” “miserable,” and, just for good measure, “fat.” A few folks said that they went to the fair themselves and had an excellent time. Similar sentiments were voiced by visitors in media interviews, although a number of the president’s supporters—including a handful who I spoke to on the ground—expressed disappointment at the humble offerings.
Clearly, the festivities have been divisive nationwide. In general, Washingtonians have mostly been concerned with the related disruptions to civic life—long-term National Mall closures, noisy military flyovers, fireworks smog. The definition of “fun” feels especially subjective nowadays, but regardless of how successfully the fair actually delivered on its promises, it certainly provoked passionate opinions.
Our staff photographer Evy Mages stopped by multiple times—from Trump’s opening rally through the increasingly sweaty days that followed—and captured the scene. See her pictures below.
