Even a 100-year-old pickle company could no longer support President Donald Trump’s Great American State Fair after it was rocked by fresh controversy.
Mt. Olive Pickles, a North Carolina institution founded in 1926, pulled out of the sparsely attended Washington, D.C. fair celebrating America’s 250th birthday after a Confederate flag was displayed in their state’s pavilion.
The company said in a statement on X that it participated in the event after receiving an invitation. The North Carolina government did not participate in the fair, citing expenses, so private companies stepped in to sponsor the exhibit.
“We are proud of our North Carolina roots, and we agreed to be a part of an exhibit, as presented to us, that would represent the best of our great state,” the company said.
But the North Carolina pavilion stirred controversy on Friday after Spectrum News reported that a video board inside prominently displayed the Confederate flag.
“We were unaware that an image of the Confederate flag was included in a video as part of this exhibit, and we have withdrawn our participation,” Mt. Olive Pickles said. “Our company stands on values of human dignity, opportunity, and freedom.”
The video displaying the flag was promptly taken down.
“On Friday, we became aware of an unapproved image in a video displayed inside the North Carolina Pavilion,” a spokesperson for the North Carolina exhibit told Spectrum. “As soon as we were made aware, we immediately removed the video and began reviewing how it occurred. Our focus remains on celebrating America’s 250th birthday and North Carolina’s role in our nation’s history.”
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein told WRAL News that “this flag does not represent the North Carolina we love. America 250 is about unity and bringing our nation together.”
“This display does not reflect the North Carolina that we love. America 250 is about unity and bringing our nation together. Glorifying this divisive Confederate symbol does the exact opposite. We demand the organizers stop dishonoring the flag of North Carolina,” a spokesperson for Stein said.
Insiders told NBC News that the video of the Confederate flag was taken down by Freedom 250, the White House-backed group that organized the fair. Initial renderings of the booth presented to Freedom 250 did not include the controversial flag, sources told the outlet.
The Confederate flag controversy is the latest to plague the president’s fair, which was billed as “a world-class exposition and modern-day World’s Fair.”
Instead, attendees from all over the country were met with thin crowds viewing Trumpy installations, empty booths, melted ice cream, and a cow named after first lady Melania Trump.
Trump kicked off the fair last week with a rally that he later claimed was “packed to the brim” with 45,000 people—contrary to footage of audience members leaving during a speech in which he recycled his usual MAGA rally talking points.
“I wish we were able to have an even larger area, which we will be able to do on July 4th when I’ll be speaking again,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “The airplane flyovers and music were fantastic. Everybody stayed right until the end of my Speech because they loved hearing about a truly successful America. See you again on July 4th!”
