There were plenty of events to choose from to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary this 4th of July weekend, but it would appear that the Great American State Fair was not among the more popular ones. Looking at footage of the event on Monday morning, “The View” host Joy Behar joked that “Melania” saw a higher turnout.
The Great American State Fair was a Freedom250 event, billed as “modern-day World’s Fair celebrating the people, traditions, innovations, and spirit that make America the greatest nation on Earth.” But it saw struggles throughout its run, with video of the event showing an almost empty lawn in front of the main stage.
“Aw, I feel so bad. What a sad-looking turnout,” Behar joked on Monday. “More people went to see the Melania movie!”
Indeed, the Amazon MGM documentary following the First Lady opened to $7 million earlier this year, far exceeding expectations. At the time of its release, the hosts of “The View” agreed that they wouldn’t contribute to its box office earnings, but would likely watch it on streaming.
Guest host Michelle Buteau — a last-minute fill-in on Monday after Whoopi Goldberg, Sara Haines and Ana Navarro all couldn’t make it in to host the show — joked that the State Fair’s crowd was only about 250 people — one person for each year of America’s existence.
Meanwhile, host Sunny Hostin took issue with Fox News’ coverage of the event. While broadcasting during the event, the hosts insisted that, even though the video playing behind them showed a sparse crowd, there were actually thousands of people there that viewers just apparently couldn’t see from the camera angle.
“They’re telling us not to believe our own eyes, you know? They’re still telling us not to believe our own eyes,” Hostin mourned.
For her part, host Alyssa Farah Griffin had an idea as to why exactly the turnout was so low. Part of it was the Trump administration’s involvement, making it a more partisan event, but much of it came down to having better options.
“I mean, think about it. You’re in DC — tons of people go for the Fourth of July,” she explained. “They want to see the monuments, there’s a lot to see in DC. But just being on a lawn, when it’s sweltering, an actual swamp…”
“The View” airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET on ABC.