Trump opens Great American State Fair amid political backlash

Donald Trump opened the Great American State Fair on the National Mall with a June 24 kickoff that paired military flyovers, U.S. military band performances and Lee Greenwood with remarks from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. The 16-day fair runs June 25 through July 10, 2026, and is being billed as part of the America250 commemoration, with Freedom 250 saying it includes more than 150 exhibits representing all 56 states and territories.

Trump used the stage for a familiar triumphal message, telling the crowd, “America is back.” The event was designed to project national unity and abundance, but its opening days have instead highlighted the political and logistical strain around a presidential showcase built on a public monument and a partisan brand.

The backlash started before the fair opened. NBC News reported that five artists had already declined to perform by May 30 because they said they did not know the event was political in nature. ABC News identified Martina McBride, Bret Michaels, Young MC, Morris Day and The Time, and The Commodores among the acts that backed out, with several saying they had been misled about the event’s character. Trump answered on Truth Social by floating a “giant MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN RALLY” instead of the concerts. At the state level, Oregon, Washington, Massachusetts, Illinois, North Carolina, Connecticut and Rhode Island declined official roles, citing financial and staffing limits and, in some cases, concerns about partisan ties.

The fair’s first week then ran into the kind of images that can eclipse any scripted opening. On June 26, Washington, D.C., hit 100 degrees Fahrenheit during a heat wave, and a second power outage disrupted food service and caused ice cream to melt. Reports from the fair described empty or sparsely staffed state booths, reinforcing the gap between the promised national showcase and the scene on the ground.

That gap also sharpened attention on Trump’s claim that “Everybody stayed right until the end of my Speech.” Photos and video showed attendees walking out, turning his boast into another easily disproven account of his own draw. It fit a pattern Trump has used repeatedly in politics: repeat a flattering narrative about his popularity, push it hard, and let supporters absorb it even when the visual record says otherwise. Jared Huffman and Adam Schiff have already attacked the administration’s handling of anniversary planning and fundraising, keeping the fight over the semiquincentennial from fading into the background.