President Donald Trump has billed his July Fourth rally on the National Mall as a culmination of the “most unforgettable birthday party any country has ever seen.” But inside his White House, there’s growing angst over how many people will actually show up to celebrate.
The lackluster attendance for Trump’s speech on the mall last week — a fact that has infuriated the president behind the scenes — has sparked fears of a similarly disappointing turnout when he headlines an Independence Day celebration, sources familiar with the matter told CNN. He has teased the event as one of the most consequential moments of his presidency.
The high-profile address follows days of scattered crowds and setbacks at the “Great American State Fair” that’s taken over the iconic two-mile stretch of downtown Washington, DC. And with tightened security measures, triple-digit heat and a schedule set to run well into Saturday night, White House officials are already bracing for an underwhelming showing.
“I do not understand why we are doing this so late,” one White House official vented, noting there were still ongoing efforts to fix the timing. “I’m really not sure who thought this was a good idea.”
Trump grew livid over the small crowd at his campaign-style speech last week, two sources familiar with the matter said. Those remarks were thrown together after planned musical acts backed out en masse over the state fair’s close association with the politically divisive president.
Trump announced he would headline the event instead and spoke for roughly 30 minutes, most of which he spent recounting his accomplishments and boasting about America’s revival under his administration. Though he wasn’t initially aware of the size of the crowd, he later saw an aerial photo that showed acres of sparsely populated fields beyond the audience that had crowded around the stage.
The visual enraged him, the sources said, and multiple White House officials who had posted the photo deleted their posts. The revelation led to a defensive Trump lashing out on social media, claiming that the crowds were “packed to the brim.”
The episode has further heightened the stakes for Trump’s Independence Day address, which represents just the latest element of the US’ semiquincentennial celebration that he’s sought to effectively make an extension of his all-consuming presidency.
It’s also prompted a round of internal finger-pointing, with some in Trump’s orbit questioning why more wasn’t done to ensure a better turnout for events they view as a test of the president’s hold on the country and its culture.
“The mistake here was not driving attendance,” one person close to the White House said of the sparse crowds at the fair. “It was an ‘if you build it, they will come’ mentality that failed.”
For Trump’s July Fourth address, one source said the viewing section directly in front of the stage will be ticketed, to ensure it is filled. However, the tickets are free, and another official familiar with the event noted that there is likely to be huge swaths of people who sign up to secure a spot but ultimately don’t show.
“President Trump is ensuring that America gets the spectacular 250th birthday it deserves — and Freedom 250 will execute on the president’s historic vision,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement, calling the fair and other events an effort to “feature a renewal of patriotism and national pride under this President’s leadership.”
Ahead of Saturday’s speech, Trump is scheduled on Wednesday to attend a dedication the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in North Dakota, which will also mark the inaugural flight of his new Air Force One. He’ll then travel to South Dakota on Friday for a fireworks show at Mount Rushmore.
The sequence of events is one that Trump has fixated on since even before he won election in 2024. Trump advisers discussed his potential July Fourth speech during the campaign, at the time envisioning that he would deliver it in Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence was signed, a person familiar with the deliberations said.
He also publicly previewed his idea for a state fair as far back as 2023, promising lavish pavilions from every state that evoked the world’s expos from more than a century ago. Since then, Trump has repeatedly marveled at being able to preside over the semiquincentennial, as well as the men’s soccer World Cup.
“It’s legacy building. He wants to leave his stamp, he wants to leave his mark,” said Timothy Naftali, a presidential historian and senior research scholar at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. “He’s not a complicated man.”
But the reality hasn’t quite lived up to hype, hampered by Trump’s polarizing involvement, which split the organizing efforts for the 250th anniversary and complicated the yearslong planning — and more recently, by more run-of-the-mill logistical and weather challenges.
At the state fair, the quality of booths from each state have varied, with some less decorated than others. There are pavilions like Arizona and Texas — featuring elaborate displays like an immersive desert walk and a replica of the Alamo, a spaceship and a honky tonk — that have drawn lines out the door. But there are also booths representing states that declined to send delegations, citing limited finances, which sit largely empty and are sparsely decorated.
Crowds have been modest, and there have been several unsavory hiccups. Over the weekend, an image of a Confederate flag was removed after appearing in the North Carolina pavilion, which was designed by state businessmen after North Carolina declined to participate because it did not have the funding. Democratic Gov. Josh Stein issued a statement condemning it and called for its removal.
And on the fair’s first full day, a man was arrested and charged after witnesses saw him with his hands down his pants, vaping and filming the female performers in an acrobatic performance, according to court documents.
The Washington weather also tempered crowd numbers, with the fair forced to close at various points over the weekend due to heavy storms. A Friday evening concert featuring Vanilla Ice, one of two acts that didn’t pull out of the original slate of performances last month, was also canceled for weather. It won’t be rescheduled, a source familiar with the planning said.
There have been a handful of popular attractions, including a 110-foot ferris wheel and daily rodeo show. The fairgoers CNN spoke with on Saturday spoke positively about their experience at the event.
“Politics aside, this is a great thing for America and I think we should all enjoy it. And I believe that this is an exceptional event,” said Fletcher Metz, a Virginia resident originally from Ohio, who commended Trump for organizing it.
But strict security measures have appeared to limit the overall appeal, preventing attendees from bringing food or water bottles into an area with little shade and few designated areas to sit.
Instead, they’ve had to rely on the food tents that also double as cool-down spaces, serving a range of basic fare like hot dogs, cheeseburgers and pizza. A water is $5, though UFC president and close Trump ally Dana White’s Phorm energy drinks are also on sale.
A spokeswoman for Freedom 250, the organizer behind the state fair, said in a statement that more than 150,000 people have attended so far.
“Anyone betting on empty celebration bet wrong — and Freedom 250 is not interested in arguing with the Negative Nancy skeptics; we’re busy celebrating with Americans flocking to DC from every corner of the best nations in the world,” the spokeswoman, Julia Friedland, said.
Still, those challenges could foreshadow similar issues for the Trump-headlined July Fourth celebration, which will include an afternoon air show and a lengthy fireworks finale so large that organizers hope it will set a new Guinness World Record.
Unlike past years, attendees won’t be allowed to bring coolers onto the mall, where highs are forecast to hit 100 degrees as a massive heat wave is set to engulf the East Coast. And by the time the massive fireworks display begins, it could be nearing midnight. In perhaps a tacit acknowledgment of those hurdles, Trump last week emphasized a different reason for people to turn out: Himself.
“Your favorite president will be speaking,” Trump said. “So please show up because if we have two empty seats, you know what’s going to happen? The fake news is going to say, ‘He didn’t fill out the arena.’”
CNN’s Gabe Cohen and Nicky Robertson contributed to this report.
