The unbearable emptiness of the Great American State Fair

President Trump must be getting used to throwing parties that not many people show up for, as the crowd for the days-long celebration for the country’s 250th anniversary looks thin. Leading up to the semiquincentennial, the Trump administration has embarked on a series of projects in the nation’s capital to celebrate this July 4—from painting the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool “American flag blue” to hosting a UFC cage fight in the White House’s backyard. But none are quite as grand as the one taking over the National Mall: the Great American State Fair. And yet, nearly a week in its opening, it looks like not many are interested in showing up. “Why does the ‘Great American State Fair’ look so empty & the only thing people care about is the Ferris Wheel,” a video posted to TikTok said, showing the National Mall with just a few dozen passersby. “I’ve seen graveyards with more people,” a user commented. Another added, “there were more people in line for the Trader Joe’s summer tote bags.” Even in videos where users seemed excited to attend the fair, the event did not look exactly crowded. In one video by a user named IdahoMAGAmom, who has over 138,000 followers on TikTok, the user enters the Idaho booth at the fair, but only a few dozen people can be spotted nearby. “There are more people in this comment section,” a user commented. “It looks like a middle school science fair,” another added. It wasn’t just videos that hit social media. Photos from TMZ, which recently launched its Washington, D.C., bureau, have also gone viral on social media. One showed a crowd gathered only to enter the Ferris Wheel, leaving the rest of the lawn nearly empty, with an elderly man on a scooter riding along. In another, a man is seen laying down on the grass as if he was passed out. The photos have also sparked mockery of the event, with some using the image of the m