{"id":215292,"date":"2026-06-29T03:58:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T03:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/trumps-great-american-state-fair-attendees-say-they-havent-noticed-politics-overshadowing-the-celebration-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T03:58:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T03:58:00","slug":"trumps-great-american-state-fair-attendees-say-they-havent-noticed-politics-overshadowing-the-celebration-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/trumps-great-american-state-fair-attendees-say-they-havent-noticed-politics-overshadowing-the-celebration-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s Great American State Fair attendees say they haven\u2019t noticed politics overshadowing the celebration – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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WASHINGTON \u2014 The gloomy, overcast weather Saturday didn\u2019t disturb visitors at the first weekend of President Donald Trump\u2019s Great American State Fair, an event commemorating America\u2019s 250th anniversary on the National Mall.
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The fair features food and culture booths from all 56 states and territories, as well as displays from federal government agencies, in temporary halls lining several blocks of the Mall that kept people dry while it drizzled at some points Saturday morning. In the middle, a massive Ferris wheel extends into the sky, just beyond a scaled-down replica of the arch<\/a> Trump hopes to build permanently in the capital.
The arch is one of Trump\u2019s marquee projects to remake Washington, alongside his mission to repaint the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and put his name next to President John F. Kennedy\u2019s on the Kennedy Center.
Some of the projects have faced legal challenges, and Trump\u2019s name was removed<\/a> from the side of the performing arts center this month at the direction of a federal judge. And the Reflecting Pool, which was meant to be \u201cAmerican flag blue<\/a>,\u201d has faced physical challenges, including an algae bloom and chipping paint.
The state fair <\/strong>has been promoted by Trump and members of his administration, who have been accused of injecting partisanship into a nonpartisan anniversary.
But over a dozen attendees Saturday \u2014 on both sides of the political aisle \u2014 told NBC News that they didn\u2019t feel the atmosphere at the fair had any kind of political tint even as Trump has tried to redesign Washington in his image and as musical acts dropped out <\/a>of the event.
\u201cIt\u2019s kind of neat, because here it\u2019s just been all about America, and I haven\u2019t seen the political things,\u201d Pamela L., 59, who was visiting the capital from Virginia Beach, Virginia, for her husband\u2019s annual birthday trip, told NBC News. \u201cPeople are just being people [and] enjoying, you know, they\u2019re being kind, opening the doors, holding them for each other, and it\u2019s just kind of neat to see.\u201d
Pamela, who declined to share her last name, added that her family jumped at the chance to attend the fair \u201cbecause we don\u2019t get to go to all the states. It\u2019s kind of neat to see them represented.\u201d
Nicole Briggs, 52, and Heather Hatter, 48, who also traveled from Virginia to see the fair with their children, said that they didn\u2019t feel any particular political views were being imparted.
\u201cIt\u2019s a once-in-a-lifetime event for our generation,\u201d Briggs said, adding later: \u201cI think it\u2019s a great atmosphere. The vibe is great.\u201d
As announcers introduced Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler to the stage near a petting zoo, Hatter said, \u201cI think it\u2019s just very patriotic, proud of America and all it represents.\u201d
The fair, which kicked off Thursday night with an opening ceremony hosted by Trump, was the center of controversy<\/a> late last month after several musical performers who had been expected to perform<\/a> throughout the fair dropped out<\/a>, with several citing political concerns.
The 16-day event was put together by Freedom 250, a public-private partnership the Trump administration created to organize events in the capital related to the nation\u2019s semiquincentennial. The group bills itself as nonpartisan and is separate from<\/a> America250, a group Congress created 10 years ago to prepare for the U.S.\u2019 250th anniversary.
Freedom 250 is organizing several other events in Washington and around the country this summer, including Sail 250, a FIFA World Cup FanFest, the Salute to America fireworks celebration on July 4 and the Patriot Games this fall.
On Thursday, Trump opened the fair<\/a> after a performance of \u201cGod Bless the U.S.A.\u201d by Lee Greenwood, telling people on the Mall, \u201cThis anniversary is a time to be proud of our past, but it is also a time to lift our sights, expand our ambitions and raise our expectations of what America can be.\u201d <\/strong>
His speech was preceded by fighter jet flyovers and performances by military bands, as well as a partisan speech by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who derided the musical acts that pulled out, saying the military bands were \u201cway better than those libtards that canceled on us.\u201d
Daniela Guerrero, 25, lives here and came to the state fair expecting to see Republican-tinged programming.
\u201cI think we heard a lot, like in our communities, that it was gonna be like a MAGA rally,\u201d she said. Her friend Grace Guber, 27, echoed, \u201c100%.\u201d
\u201cIt, I think, has been very much nonpartisan,\u201d Guerrero added. \u201cThe people showing up have been a mix of tourists just trying to, like, celebrate freedom.\u201d
Lloyd and Melinda Paris traveled from Georgia with their grandchildren on their way back from one of their grandson\u2019s baseball games in New York.
Lloyd Paris, 76, said that what Trump has done in Washington is \u201camazing\u201d but that \u201cI didn\u2019t come here because I\u2019m a certain political persuasion.\u201d
His wife, 71, said, \u201cWe would have come even with the previous president,\u201d as the two peered to the line for the Ferris wheel, where their grandchildren waited for a turn.
Several states, including at least six<\/a> led by Democratic governors, declined to send delegations, citing financial burdens. At least one Democratic governor, Tina Kotek of Oregon, cited concerns about partisanship.
\u201cThe State of Oregon will not be participating in the Great American State Fair due to both the cost of participating in the Fair and growing concerns that the event in Washington, D.C., is shaping up to be a more partisan affair than originally presented,\u201d a spokesperson for Kotek\u2019s office told the Salem Statesman Journal<\/a>.
Lynn Frank, 52, who traveled from North Carolina, said she was \u201cincredibly disappointed\u201d when Democratic Gov. Josh Stein decided not to send a delegation.
\u201cThere\u2019s some things they all do that, you know \u2014 there\u2019s things you like and things you don\u2019t like,\u201d Frank said. \u201cBut that, to me \u2014 a state fair shouldn\u2019t be political.\u201d
Alexandra Marquez is a politics reporter for NBC News.
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

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