Everyone gets cancer, some forms are less worrisome than others » « Spiders evolved, get over it

The Temu State Fair

It’s the great American humiliation: Donald Trump wanted to put on an ambitious demonstration of America’s success over the past 250 years, but all he could do was put up some cheesy cardboard cutouts and hire some third-rate musicians (many of whom bailed out when they learned how they were being used), and now nobody is showing up. It was all a grift, where he undermined a sincere bipartisan effort to celebrate American history, and instead he substituted this phony demonstration and sucked $126 million out of the budget.

Donald Trump and his allies have seized control of the bipartisan 250th anniversary celebration and substituted it with a Trumpified series of events, at the public’s expense. Our analysis of federal contracts and corporate sponsorship deals related to the 250th anniversary reveals that:

  • The Trump administration has awarded nearly $103 million in federal contracts and grants for the 250th anniversary celebrations to a network of politicized entities under the control of Trump administration officials and political allies.
  • The recipients include entities controlled or influenced by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, as well as Chris LaCivita (Trump’s former campaign manager) and Meredith O’Rourke, Trump’s former presidential campaign finance director.
  • These grants represent the vast majority (about 80%) of the nearly $126 million in federal contracts awarded since October 2025 to fund this summer’s 250th-anniversary celebrations, which have devolved into a celebration of Trump himself.
  • Private funding has also flooded the anniversary celebration, often from corporations with regulatory issues before the Trump administration. As of June 11, 20 corporate sponsors are funding the Trump administration’s preferred anniversary organization, Freedom 250, compared with the 62 sponsoring the original, bipartisan celebration, dubbed America 250 (12 companies sponsor both).

For example, take a closer look at Trump’s Arch, sitting in the middle of an empty grassy field. It looks cheap. It’s badly assembled. It’s fate after this affair is to be chopped up and burned in a landfill (foreshadowing the fate of our country.)

I’m confident that Trump initiated this abomination with the goal of being “classy”…but he has such poor taste and lacks focus and is so incompetent at the execution that all we get is this embarrassing shitshow to join the reflecting pool debacle, the defeat in an Iran war that shouldn’t have happened, and all the corruption surrounding this presidency.

Everyone gets cancer, some forms are less worrisome than others » « Spiders evolved, get over it

Comments

  1. Reginald Selkirk says

    You can get a special bicentennial passport for a limited time. And what is special about it to celebrate 250 years of democracy? A picture of Donald Trump.

    “The U.S.A.’s New Passport, which says, ‘Welcome, but be good!'” Trump wrote on Truth Social. The text “welcome but be good” does not appear in the images of the passport pages that Trump shared in his post.

    Apparently Trump is confusing a passport with a tourist visa.

  2. redwood says

    Shoddy work sponsored by a shitty man in a shabby country. The US could be so much better . . . I’m a couple of years older than PZ–wonder if I’ll live to see any kind of improvement.

  3. says

    tRUMP: remove the ‘cl’ from class and you have his sense of taste; ass. He and his magat cockroach pseudo patriots are rapidly turning this nation into the richest, most powerful trailer trash country in the world.

  4. seversky says

    The arch seems to epitomize Trump – tastelessly ostentatious and shoddy.

    There’s also a video up on YouTube from someone who got their hands on on of his gold Trump cell phones. Turns out to be a re-badged HTC model with the so-called “gold” shell being a lurid yellow plastic. And the enclosed guide was a few sheets run off a printer that was obviously beginning to run out of ink.

    Again, tastelessly ostentatious and shoddily execute, just like him.

  5. StevoR says

    @ ^ seversky : “Turns out to be a re-badged HTC model with the so-called “gold” shell being a lurid yellow plastic.”

    Guess they meant gold as in the colour not gold as in the metal – but then charged metal prices anyhow.But, yeah, an obvs scam. For once I’m not very sympathetic to those being scammed..

  6. dobby says

    Trump has now put up a totally tacky gold eagle ornament at the White House. Complete with 11 stars. He says it is a gift, but doesn’t say from who.

  7. raven says

    Trump has now put up a totally tacky gold eagle ornament at the White House. Complete with 11 stars.

    That he did but it appears to only be an AI generated picture.

    Trump raised eyebrows with what seemed like his latest addition to the White House, but an image of a golden eagle appears to be AI-generated.

    The eleven stars are meant to symbolize the 11 states of the old Confederacy, the one we fought a war with and won.

  8. Rich Woods says

    I’ve just heard one British commentator say the State Fair mock-up of L’arc de Trump reminds her of Spinal Tap’s version of Stonehenge. Let’s hope the dancing dwarves don’t knock it over.

  10. John Morales says

    Owlmirror, from your link:

    Key Background
     
    In May 2025, Comey, the former FBI director who Trump fired months into his first term in office, posted an image on Instagram of shells on a beach arranged to form “86 47.” The former FBI director quickly apologized for the post, insisting “I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence.” However, Comey was quickly placed under investigation, and later indicted by a federal grand jury for threatening to harm the president. A federal judge dropped the case later in the year, ruling the prosecutor leading the case wasn’t legally appointed. Comey was indicted again in April related to the post, and the case is set to go to trial in October. Since the Comey affair, the numbers have been showing up more in protests against Trump—most recently written in huge numerals on grass on the National Mall earlier in June.

    Obviously, that bit is LLM output. Getting easier to tell.

  12. Hemidactylus says

    Glad it’s failing so far, but will it pick up steam toward the weekend and the actual holiday for Trump to save some face?

    I thought Vanilla Ice getting rained out was a good encapsulation of the total dreck this thing is. But it’s got stuff scheduled until the end of next week.

  13. cartomancer says

    The temporary triumphal arch was a thing among certain minor Italian princelings during the Early Modern period. No Roman would have considered such a thing anything but a joke, however.

  14. John Morales says

    Semiotically speaking, when a triumphal arch is dismantled does the triumph become as diminished as it was elevated by its erection?

    Me, I’d say it signals that the supposed triumph was fake and that its instantiation is evanescent.

    (As above, so below thingy)

  15. StevoR says

    @7 raven : “The eleven stars are meant to symbolize the 11 states of the old Confederacy, the one we fought a war with and won.””

    Fucking hell. Not exactly subtle. Did they outright state that or was it just implied and noted as such? Not surprised but disgusted.

  17. CompulsoryAccount7746, Sky Captain says

    John Morales @14:

    when a triumphal arch is dismantled does the triumph become as diminished as it was elevated by its erection?

    Arches have their ups and downs.

    Wikipedia – Triumphal arch

    Archaeologists like to distinguish between a true “triumphal arch”, built to celebrate an actual Roman triumph, a grand procession declared by the Roman Senate following military victory; a “memorial arch” or “honorary arch”, essentially built by emperors to celebrate themselves; and arches, typically in city walls, that are merely grand gateways.

    Often actual Roman triumphal arches were initially in wood and other rather temporary materials, only later replaced by one in stone; the majority of ancient survivals are actually from the other two groups.

    A military commander initially got a doomed wood arch. Then a stone one. Then the stone came down.

  18. CompulsoryAccount7746, Sky Captain says

    ArchaeologyMag – A monumental imperial biography (2022)

    ^ Interpretation and reinterpretation of the Arch of Constantine’s incorporation of spolia—stone taken from earlier monuments and repurposed—except with earlier emperors’ faces replaced with Constantine’s own.

    On occasion, the Senate also voted to build a monumental arch to celebrate the commander’s conquests. There were once 57 triumphal arches in Rome and more across the empire. Yet little is known about the vast majority of these monuments from contemporaneous or later sources, and no remains of them survive. Only three of the city’s triumphal arches still exist, the largest of which is the Arch of Constantine.
    […]
    It has long been clear to scholars that much of the arch’s sculpture came from monuments dedicated to the earlier emperors Trajan (r. A.D. 98–117), Hadrian (r. A.D. 117–138), and Marcus Aurelius (r. A.D. 161–180).
    […]
    [University of Pennsylvania archaeologist C. Brian Rose] suggests that at least four of the panels on the arch—the river battle, adventus, oratio, and liberalitas—were, in fact, taken from an unfinished triumphal monument, likely an arch, commissioned for the vicennalia, or 20 years of rule, of Diocletian (r. A.D. 284–305) in A.D. 303. During construction of the new arch, Rose argues, Diocletian’s heads were removed and replaced with heads of Constantine, which, not incidentally, have now fallen off
    […]
    Past scholars have interpreted the reliefs as intended to link Constantine with the so-called good emperors […] a period of peace and stability. But Rose doesn’t believe the average viewer would have been sensitive to this messaging or have been disturbed by, or even aware of, the reuse of parts of a monument to Diocletian, an emperor who reigned at the end of the chaos and turbulence of the third century A.D.

    More at the link.

  19. StevoR says

    @17. CompulsoryAccount7746, Sky Captain :“Arches have their ups and downs.”

    I see what you did there! ;-)

    @16. John Morales : “StevoR @15, why do you instantly believe that speculative claim?”

    Because I take what people say at face value and accept it as true unless I see a clear, good reason to do otherwise.

    Are you claiming raven is wrong about this and, if so, why?

  20. John Morales says

    @16. John Morales : “StevoR @15, why do you instantly believe that speculative claim?”

    Because I take what people say at face value and accept it as true unless I see a clear, good reason to do otherwise.
    Are you claiming raven is wrong about this and, if so, why?

    No, so your ‘if so’ is inapplicable.
    I am remarking on your credulity.

    FWIW, here is the Confederate battle flag:
    https://cdn.britannica.com/84/4484-050-D6C8A049/version-Southern-Cross-Confederate-Battle-Flag.jpg

    13 stars there.

  21. John Morales says

    [grr. markdown sucks here, back to markup]

    @16. John Morales : “StevoR @15, why do you instantly believe that speculative claim?”
    Because I take what people say at face value and accept it as true unless I see a clear, good reason to do otherwise.
    Are you claiming raven is wrong about this and, if so, why?Because I take what people say at face value and accept it as true unless I see a clear, good reason to do otherwise.

    No, so your ‘if so’ is inapplicable.
    I am remarking on your credulity.

    FWIW, here is the Confederate battle flag:
    https://cdn.britannica.com/84/4484-050-D6C8A049/version-Southern-Cross-Confederate-Battle-Flag.jpg

    13 stars there.

  22. Hemidactylus says

    There were 11 seceded confederate states. 13 stars added two that hadn’t seceded: Kentucky and Missouri. I think they sorta fell into a grey area.

    Trump’s fascist eagle seems to be AI slop with its 11 stars. One can’t expect an addled rage poster with little historical knowledge to note that number nor have included just 11 for a trollish technicality about states actually in the CSA.

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/trump-post-white-house-eagle-154442721.html

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederate_States_of_America

  23. raven says

    This morning’s tempest in a teapot features the symbolism of Trump’s AI image of a golden eagle on the White House.
    It has to be noted that neither Trump nor the AI that created the image really think, so this is all extrapolation.

    https://www.aol.com/articles/donald-trumps-gaudy-golden-eagle-065500000.html

    Donald Trump’s gaudy golden eagle trashed over ‘confederate’ 11-star message
    The Express Reanna Smith Updated Mon, June 29, 2026 at 11:56 PM PDT

    Critics were quick to note that 11 stars typically symbolize the states that seceded from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America, who fought to preserve and expand the institution of slavery during the American Civil War.

    “11 stars = 11 Confederate States of America. Not a coincidence. Bizarre as always,” one X user wrote. “What in the actual f— is that?! Why does it only have 11 stripes and 11 stars?” a second questioned.

    “Did we just get taken over by the Confederacy?” a third commented. “11 stars? Confederate eagle?” another said.

    It wasn’t the only apparent symbolism that sparked intense backlash. Others compared the eagle to the Nazi Reichsadler, an eagle with its wings held outwards horizontally, as its talons hold a crest which contains a swastika.

    It was placed on government ministries, military installations, and Nazi party headquarters across Germany. “Yes, the nazi vibes are strong with this one,” one X user said of Trump’s eagle.

    “So close!” a second noted as they shared an image of the Nazi Reichsadler. “What the hell is this nazi s—?!?!?!?” a third questioned.

    “Looks far more like a Nazi reichsadler than it does like any American eagle seal image! Who ‘gifted’ this insult?” another commented.

    US imagery usually uses 13 stars to represent the 13 original colonies.
    Confederate imagery often uses 11 stars to represent the 11 states of the old Confederacy.

    The Golden Eagle also looks a lot like the Nazi Eagle holding a circle with a swastika inside.

    Both the Third Reich and the Confederacy are the forerunners of the current GOP and Trump so none of this is at all surprising.

  24. John Morales says

    So that was not the Confederate battle flag? I linked to it.

    “Yes, the nazi vibes are strong with this one,” one X user said of Trump’s eagle.

    Right. Confederate and fascist.

    Hey, Mussolini also built an arch! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arch_of_the_Philaeni

    To assert it as a fact is to presume to actually know the actual intent.

    —

    Remember the phone, which had 11 stripes on the flag?
    It had 50 stars.

  26. Owlmirror says

    Obviously, that bit is LLM output.

    I’m not sure about the LLM aspect, but the text is misleadingly wrong.

    Comey’s first indictment (which was indeed dismissed) had nothing to do with the seashells 86 47 Instagram post. Rather, it was claimed that he gave false testimony to Congress in 2020.

    I apologize for linking to someone who was so sloppy that they didn’t fact check their own post, whether written by themselves or with the aid of an LLM.

    Now I’m gloomily wondering if the entire thing was a scam. Well, other news outlets did pick it up:

    https://www.newsweek.com/8647-seen-on-texas-america-250-fair-display-12133976

    And now I’m looking at timestamps, and wondering if the Forbes post plagiarizes the Newsweek article.

  27. Owlmirror says

    Well, here’s more about the unpopularity of the fair:

    https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-secret-fury-over-crowd-size-humiliation-for-great-american-state-fair-revealed/

    On opening night, Trump claimed the fair drew 45,000 people. He also said that everyone stayed until the end of his speech and “loved hearing about a truly successful America,” even as photographs showed dozens of attendees walking out while he was still speaking.

    [ . . . ]

    Independent estimates put opening-night attendance at around 1,000.

    (boldface mine)
    (Who will you believe; Trump, or your lying eyes?)

    Also seen on Bluesky (I’m not sure I can find the link): Band outnumbers audience. It’s a video showing a stage that does have quite a few players on it – and the camera pulls back to show a handful of people on the grass in front of the stage, then pans around in a circle showing the almost entirely empty grass field in front of the stage.

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