The Trump administration came under ridicule on social media after a typo was spotted on a billboard for the Great American State Fair, a small embarrassment for an event that has been beset by larger problems.
The National Mall fair, a weekslong celebration intended to mark America’s 250th birthday, has been hit with setbacks from the start.
In May, multiple musical acts — including Young MC, Morris Day and the Commodores — dropped out before opening day, with some citing the event’s political associations. Shortly after, a string of blue states also opted out, pointing to cost concerns.
Then, when the event kicked off last week, several state booths sat nearly empty, with little more than a few chairs inside, and a power outage reportedly caused frozen food to melt.
“The Great American State Fair experienced power hiccups,” a spokesperson for Freedom 250, the Trump-established public-private partnership organizing the event, told The Independent on Friday. “We appreciate guests’ patience, and in true American 250th spirit, Freedom 250 and our guests continue to keep the celebration going without missing a beat.”
Mother nature caused yet another disruption this weekend. In a Sunday afternoon update, Freedom 250 announced that the fair would be “temporarily postponed” due to inclement weather and advised attendees to “seek shelter.”
As the closure was announced, one billboard quickly became the subject of mockery online. A photo posted by writer Amanda Moore showed a typo in the message, which read: “DUE TO SEVERE WEATHER, THIS EVENT IS POSTPONED…GO TO FREEEDOM 250 SOCIAL MEDIA FOR MORE UPDATES.”
Social media users piled on, leaving hundreds of comments on the post.
“‘Freedom’ is spelled wrong, lolz,” one user wrote. Another added, “Sign is misspelled. This is winning?”
A third joked: “Might as well spell it Freedumb with a B.”
Some commenters offered their theories on what the third “e” in freedom stood for.
“The extra ‘e’ in Freeedom just shows how much more patriotic they are than you,” one X user wrote.
Another quipped: “The extra E is for Epstein.”
One simply wrote “FREEEDOM!” beside a GIF of Mel Gibson as William Wallace, the Scottish rebel leader, who yells the word as his final line in the film.
Meanwhile, other users took issue with the temporary closure, claiming the “severe” weather was “little more than a sprinkle.”
The Great American State Fair, which kicked off on June 25, is set to run through July 10.
The Independent has reached out to Freedom 250 for comment.
