Donald Trump's 'Great American State Fair' has been labelled a ghost town as pictures show how few people turned up. The US President is throwing a 16-day bash on the National Mall in Washington DC to celebrate America's 250th anniversary.
Empty chairs and sparse crowds
One picture from Saturday showed rows of empty chairs and just two people watching the performance of a musician called Jason Hershey. The fair is billed as a patriotic showcase filled with family attractions, live entertainment and exhibits to mark the country's 250th birthday. The fairground is underwhelming, with no roller coasters or carnival rides, just a 110-foot Ferris wheel and a plywood 'Triumph Arch'.
It was meant to kick off on Wednesday with a concert, but a string of musicians dropped out due to security concerns and divisiveness. So Trump became the headliner and delivered a 'rally to end all rallies' alongside bands from the Marine Corps and the Army.
President's crowd claim contradicted
Trump claimed on Truth Social that the crowd was 'packed to the brim' with 45,000 attendees. The pictures show a different story, with NBC News saying attendance was 'nowhere near' that figure. The Washington Post wrote that the crowd 'thinly covered an area about the length of the National Museum of American History, smaller than some summer outdoor movie screenings'.
It appears the turnout has not been much better since then. Photos taken across the weekend appear to show large areas of the fairground largely empty. Each state has their own booth, but Maine did not even send a delegation, so their area is just an empty room with some chairs, Boston Globe reporter Sam Brodey tweeted.
Power outages and other issues
Attendance has not been the only challenge so far. Power outages impacted some of the fair's offerings, resulting in melted ice cream and disruption to the 110-foot-tall Ferris wheel. Organisers Freedom 250 acknowledged there had been some 'power hiccups'.
What has generated some much-needed buzz was a cow named Melania, after the President's wife, Melania Trump. Student Piper Stolipher showcased the animal on Friday, saying its colours matched the first lady's hair.
