# Freedom 250 - The Great American State Fair **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 29, 2026, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470 "2026-05-29T03:08:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 32
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/621 "2026-07-02T01:05:45Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > He started talking about it in 2023 and mentioned his plans for the greatest fair ever when he was campaigning in 2024 Mr. President, I have been to a great state fair. This is no great state fair. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/622 "2026-07-02T07:24:08Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > … Haven’t been there in 30 years, but I’d almost be surprised if that stand isn’t still serving scones during the fair in September. It is, as well as during the Spring Fair in April. They also have a van which pops up at shopping centers around the area. As for the name, it changed from “The Western Washington Fair” to “The Puyallup Fair” in 2006, then to “The Washington State Fair” in 2013. Though as @Atamasama said, it’s never been anything but “The Puyallup” (at least in my memory). ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/623 "2026-07-02T13:31:00Z")
As best I can recall, we called it “the Pyyallup Fair” when I was a kid, although we knew it was really “the Western Washington State Fair”. Then, sometime in the mid-'70s, their ad campaign for the fair had an insanely catchy song “Do the Puyallup”, and that took over as the name. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/624 "2026-07-02T13:37:09Z")
> **[Trump promises 'really long speech' on July 4 despite extreme DC heat](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/07/01/trump-speech-july-4-fireworks-celebration-america-250/90775356007/)** > > President Trump said extreme heat in the nation's capital on July 4 won't stop him from giving his big speech ahead of the fireworks celebration. Is this a mirrored [William Henry Harrison](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Henry_Harrison#Inauguration) in the making? Harrison supposedly caught pneumonia during his overly long inauguration speech in the cold & wet, then died from it. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/625 "2026-07-02T13:43:07Z")
Don’t forget the cherries… > **[Zachary Taylor: Death of the President | Miller Center](https://millercenter.org/president/taylor/death-of-the-president)** > After attending Fourth of July orations for most of the day, Taylor walked along the Potomac River before returning to the White House. Hot and tired, he drank iced water and consumed large quantities of cherries and other fruits. The President suffered severe stomach pains for the next five days. Diagnosed as suffering from “cholera morbus” by his physicians, Taylor ate slivers of ice for relief until his body began rejecting fluids. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/626 "2026-07-02T14:02:20Z")
I’m working on a Country and Western song about this “fair”, and the Trump admin in general. **A Cow Named Melania** There’s a fair way down in DC, Which Trump wants you to see That highlights what he wants the country to be It’s got empty tents, sky-high rents, and a cow named Melania It’s got infrastructure failing, farmers wailing, and a cow named Melania It’s got an algae-covered pool, Hegseth the drunken fool, and a cow named Melania It’s got trade complaints about Canada, a plan to take over Panama, and a cow named Melania It’s got sky-high inflation, a Greenland invasion, and a cow named Melania It’s got beachheads on Venezuela’s shores, another Iranian war, and a cow named Melania. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/627 "2026-07-02T15:22:51Z")
> [@solost](#): > > I’m guessing trump appropriated ‘X’ amount for the Fair, had them choose all the lowest bottom-feeding bidders for the products and services (see also: hastily-assembled neo-classical structures with clearly painted, rippling tarps and fake columns that don’t even reach the ground), and pocketed the monetary difference. Looks like I was not far off… > **[Ranking Member Huffman Releases Report on How Trump Hijacked America's 250th...](https://huffman.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/ranking-member-huffman-releases-report-on-how-trump-hijacked-americas-250th-birthday-to-enrich-himself-sell-access-and-harvest-americans-data)** > > The Official U.S. Congressional website of Congressman Jared Huffman > **[NEWS: Sen. Schiff Blasts Trump Admin on Troubling Allocation of Taxpayer...](https://www.schiff.senate.gov/news/press-releases/news-sen-schiff-blasts-trump-admin-on-troubling-allocation-of-taxpayer-dollars-to-private-entity-freedom-250-potential-commingling-of-foreign-money/)** > > Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) is leading 11 Senators in pressing Department of Interior (DOI) Secretary Doug Burgum for answers on the recent troubling allocation of at least $100 million in taxpayer funds to Freedom 250, a... > [@Skywatcher](#): > > Is this a mirrored [William Henry Harrison](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Henry_Harrison#Inauguration) in the making? I just posted this in the ‘trump is dying’ thread: > [@Trump is dying](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-dying/1022520/3199): > > trump has been very credibly rumored to have already had a mini-stroke or three. If he has The Big One while giving his speech, in record heat brought on by the climate change they deny, on the 4th of July, that would be some kind of krazy karma. Just making an observation, understand, not wishing it to happen or anything… ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/628 "2026-07-02T15:26:45Z")
A House Democratic subcommittee released a report on Freedom 250 and the celebration. It will go nowhere because that’s where we are today, but it’s a brutal and disgusting report. (ninja’d by solost!) > Donald Trump staged a hostile takeover of the US’s 250th anniversary celebration to enrich political allies, harvest voter data and promote Christian nationalist ideology. > The interim report alleges that Freedom 250 surreptitiously diverted resources intended for America250 for its own benefit, leaving America250 scrambling for funds. > > Sources interviewed by Democrats on the committee said fundraisers including O’Rourke misled prospective America250 donors by providing them with Freedom 250’s banking and routing numbers instead. The report finds this could constitute wire fraud and charitable solicitation fraud under federal and District of Columbia law. > Event registration is powered by Campaign Nucleus, a firm founded by Brad Parscale, a veteran of Trump election campaigns. Campaign Nucleus openly boasts about using artificial intelligence to analyse personal data and target “persuadable” voters. Unsuspecting visitors, such as attendees of a free Fifa World Cup Fan Zone on the National Mall, unwittingly fed their personal information directly into this Republican campaign apparatus. > **[Trump hijacked US’s 250 anniversary to serve ‘political ideology and pet...](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/02/trump-hijacked-250-anniversary)** > > House Democratic subcommittee report outlines web of alleged corruption, wire fraud and pay-to-play schemes ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/629 "2026-07-02T15:47:04Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > A House Democratic subcommittee released a report on Freedom 250 and the celebration. It will go nowhere because that’s where we are today, but it’s a brutal and disgusting report. (ninja’d by solost!) I may have nominally ninja’d you, but your post summary of it is much better than the two simple links I posted; thanks. This needs to not be swept under the rug. It’s an encapsulation of all that is evil and wrong about the trump administration. They took what was to have been a non-partisan celebration that had been 10 years in the planning, and hijacked it to create yet another opportunity for grifting America to line trump’s pockets, include their bullshit culture war propaganda and partisanship, push more of trump’s vanity projects like the 4th Reich arch, in the process making something pathetic, cheap-looking and awful. The hubris, greed and narcissistic delusion involved in making something so terrible for America’s 250th birthday and still thinking people would flock to see it is a perfect metaphor for all of trumpism. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/630 "2026-07-02T16:45:25Z")
> [@solost](#): > > This needs to not be swept under the rug. No shit. Wire fraud is being alleged here. Even if (I shouldn’t say “if”, we know it will be the case) Trump himself won’t be at any kind of legal risk, there are all sorts of folks involved with this, and they can and should face prosecution. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/631 "2026-07-02T16:50:41Z")
(Cue Jon Lovitz voice for the next word…) “Acting!” Attorney General and personal lawyer to Trump Todd Blanche will be all over that, surely. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/632 "2026-07-02T16:52:45Z")
Yeah, this raises the question of “who is going to prosecute” as it will surely be a federal matter, and Trump would probably just have the DOJ find other priorities (like harassing more of his enemies with nonsense investigations). ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/633 "2026-07-02T16:57:27Z")
Republicans have brought this country corruption at a level that is difficult to comprehend. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/634 "2026-07-02T20:50:06Z")
I hope you’ll post a link so we can hear it when you’re done. Depending on the melody and manner of singing, I think the scansion needs some tweaks, but that’s definitely doable, this is still a Work In Progress, right? The “and a cow named Melania” is sublime. The melody practically writes itself - I can hear it already! ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/635 "2026-07-02T20:51:41Z")
Maybe you could re-name the cow Moolania? Keeping with the bovine theme and all. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/636 "2026-07-02T20:57:05Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > I hope you’ll post a link so we can hear it when you’re done Alas, I have no actual musical skills, so I’ll need some to do the score and actually perform it. I’m just working on the lyrics. I need more bridges between the “cow” lines to avoid it being too repetitive. Bbb > [@kambuckta](#): > > Maybe you could re-name the cow Moolania? But that’s the thing - there’s an actual cow on display, and the participant named her “Melania”. It works because you just could never come up with something that perfect by accident. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/637 "2026-07-02T20:57:54Z")
That is too fucking funny 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/638 "2026-07-02T21:07:14Z")
trump said that even though the temperature was going to be over 100, he was going to give a 2 hour speech just to prove he could. I hope they don’t talk him out of it. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/639 "2026-07-02T21:14:42Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > even though the temperature was going to be over 100, he was going to give a 2 hour speech just to prove he could. I hope they don’t talk him out of it And that the cooler blower set up under the stage works as well as all the other gear has been working this far? ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/640 "2026-07-02T21:17:38Z")
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