The Trump administration tried to promote the president’s Great American State Fair flop by showing people standing around looking bored.
The Science and Technology Directorate, the research and development arm of the Department of Homeland Security, attempted to show off its tent at the sparsely attended event on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., by posting a video to social media.
Instead, the video only emphasized how few people have turned up to Donald Trump’s event, held as part of the celebrations for the nation’s 250th birthday, while showing several staffers at the tent simply standing around, gazing at their phones.
The 30-second clip manages to show four people at the tent using their phones, with a fifth either just about to take one out or put it away.
The video begins with a man outside the tent, a lanyard around his neck, looking absentmindedly at his phone as the person filming makes their way inside.
The clip highlights how deserted the Great American State Fair is, with only a handful of people visible outside the tent on the National Mall.
Inside, the camera pans to a man sitting at one of the exhibits using his phone. A second man seated nearby seems to realize he is being recorded and dutifully puts his phone away before standing up to look busy.
The camera then pans again to show a woman intently looking at her phone, along with another man fumbling with his phone in his back trouser pocket.
The Great American State Fair, organized by the pro-Trump Freedom 250 group, has been a thoroughly botched attempt to celebrate the 250th anniversary of America’s independence.
What was supposed to be a nonpartisan celebration has been completely hijacked by Trump, who will even use July Fourth as an excuse to hold a MAGA-style rally.
The Great American State Fair has also suffered a string of other embarrassments, including musical artists pulling out of planned performances because they did not want to be associated with the Trump-backed event.
Vanilla Ice, one of the few announced acts who did not withdraw, was forced to cancel his performance at the last minute after severe weather shut down the entire fair.
The poor weather has also contributed to the event’s low turnout and caused a power outage that melted vendors’ ice cream.
Elsewhere, the Science and Technology Directorate also posted another video to social media on Tuesday in an attempt to promote the fair, showing off an AT&T robotic dog used by emergency responders.
However, the clip suggested that even the high-tech canine had had enough of the event, as it was filmed making a break for the tent’s exit.
