Trump wants people to ‘appreciate’ his Great American State Fair flop

As this week got underway, Donald Trump published an item to his social media platform suggesting that he was looking for gratitude. “Do you think people appreciate what a fantastic job we did in building and operating the Great American State Fair at the National Mall, packed with happy people, and everybody loving it?” the president wrote. “Ask yourself this simple question, ‘DO YOU THINK THAT OBUMA OR SLEEPY JOE BIDEN COULD HAVE DONE IT?’ THE ANSWER IS NO!”

Even by Trump standards, the whining was unfortunate, not just because it’s very easy to imagine recent Democratic presidents organizing successful events, but also because the Republican wants the public to appreciate him for putting together an event that’s become a rather embarrassing flop.

Even before the fair kicked off, there were signs of serious trouble. Not only did musical acts withdraw from the gathering, but roughly a fifth of the nation’s states decided not to send official delegations or spend public money on participating in the fair.

When Trump headlined his own event last week to kick off the festivities, turnout was abysmal, and many attendees were seen leaving in the middle of the president’s campaign-style speech.

In the days that followed, the troubles intensified. NOTUS reported:

The 110-foot-tall Ferris wheel, a main attraction at the Great American State Fair for the country’s 250th anniversary, shut down for a couple of hours due to lack of power. The ice cream melted, but Iowa’s butter cow survived. And a display of the Confederate flag was removed from North Carolina’s booth after Gov. Josh Stein condemned the vendor for putting it up.

The same report referred to “power outages” and “almost-empty or understaffed booths” before adding, “Rodeos and baby farm animals drew crowds but the fair appeared sparsely attended; there were no lines to get in, the lawn was fairly void of people and entertainers outnumbered guests at points.”

Ouch.

Fox News has done its part to try to promote the gathering, even broadcasting live from the fair, but that apparently hasn’t helped. It’s easy to see the absence of attendees behind the on-air hosts and guests.

And did I mention that the event features a poorly made replica of the “triumphal” arch that Trump is so excited about? Because that’s an issue, too.

Generous observers may be inclined to cut Trump some slack. After all, they might argue, it’s not specifically the president’s fault that so few people seem interested in his fair.

But it’s not quite that simple. For one thing, he’s the one who helped turned the event into a partisan affair. For another, he’s also the one urging people to “appreciate” his failure.

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