An East Coast heat wave is wreaking havoc on Donald Trump’s already troubled Great American State Fair in the capital.
The country’s 250th anniversary celebrations in Washington have so far seen lackluster attendance, a flimsy, plywood lookalike of Trump’s arch project, and a Confederate flag controversy that turned into a MAGA boycott of a pickle company. The fireworks celebration on July 4th has also been pushed back even later, on account of Trump’s planned speech that night.
“On July 4th, it’s going to be approximately 107 degrees out,” Trump said Wednesday in North Dakota, “and I’m going to make a really long speech just to show that I can do anything. It’s gonna be 107!”
Back in Washington that afternoon, the heat already in the region was making the situation at the fair even worse.
Some air conditioning units were down, prompting exhibits to close and workers to leave their stations, CNN reported. That is, any exhibits that were operational to begin with, since some were empty due to a handful of states that declined to participate in the fair.
The Trump administration has been “very troubled by the anemic showing of people here,” CNN’s Tom Foreman said. “They’ve been troubled by the embarrassment of what’s happened with the [Lincoln Memorial] Reflecting Pool down the way, and they really want to have a lot more people out, especially for the Fourth.”
However, security is expected to be inauguration-level on that day, according to CNN, in part due to Trump once again making himself the center of attention. A “prohibited items list” seen by Daily Beast includes backpacks, coolers, camping chairs, sunscreen, bug spray, and umbrellas. Also banned are outside food and even water bottles.
“If you’re a family and you’re going out to watch fireworks that aren’t expected to start until after the president has spoken, it might make it tough to hang out for hours on end,” CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins said on Wednesday.
Any hampering of attendance is sure to displease Trump, who has long been touchy about crowd sizes.
Last week, the president insisted that when he spoke during the opening night of the fair, the venue was “packed to the brim,” despite videos clearly showing scores of people leaving while he was talking.
The forecast for the holiday in the capital, according to the National Weather Service, shows a high of 101 degrees. On top of that, thunderstorms may arrive in the afternoon.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
