ALL YOU CAN EAT

Trump’s Flop State Fair Tries Stomach-Churning Attention Grab

What a way to start the day.

Nothing says “Everyday Health and Well-Being” in America like stuffing yourself to the brink of barfing.

“MAHA Monday” at President Donald Trump’s Great American State Fair kicked off with a pancake-eating competition where four participants were encouraged to scarf down as many pancakes as possible. Bonus points were given to those who “could eat it the funniest.”

The competition was sponsored by Judy’s Family Cafe—an Illinois-based American and Chinese food restaurant whose owner, Judy Wang, has made waves on social media for her promotional videos.

“Breakfast has always been about more than food. It’s about slowing down,” Wang, who immigrated to the U.S. from China in 2017, said in an Instagram post about the event. “It’s about bringing people together.”

Far from slowing down, Douglas Ford, an intern for the USDA’s Rural Development, took home the top prize for his quick-eating, according to an X post shared by the agency.

Fox News correspondent Mark Meredith said the winner was “determined by audience applause,” though a video of the event shared by Judy on Instagram appeared to show only a few dozen people in attendance.

“The guy who won appeared really worried he wasn’t gonna be able to keep the pancakes down, but in the end he made it,” Meredith said during America Reports on Monday. “Today, the focus is on making America’s healthier again.”

The Daily Beast has reached out to Freedom250 for comment.

Among the other events on the “MAHA Monday” agenda were a discussion on health led by functional-healing influencer Holistic Hilda, who describes herself as “a kind of Dora the Explorer 2.0,” and a conversation on mental health led by Trump’s Medicare and Medicaid administrator, Dr. Oz.

The 80-year-old president’s 16-day America extravaganza has been widely panned as a failure, thanks to its low turnout, multiple weather delays, performance cancellations, and a power outage that melted all of the food vendors’ ice cream.

Even those who have attended the event have been underwhelmed.

“It feels more like a campaign event than a fair,” a D.C. resident who didn’t want to be named told The New Republic while attending the fair with his wife and son.

Trump has not taken criticism of his festival well, firing off a Truth Social post early Monday morning alluding to the poor reviews.

“Do you think people appreciate what a fantastic job we did in building and operating the Great American State Fair at the National Mall, packed with happy people, and everybody loving it?” the president wrote at 6:27 a.m.

“Ask yourself this simple question,” he continued. “‘DO YOU THINK THAT OBUMA OR SLEEPY JOE BIDEN COULD HAVE DONE IT?’ THE ANSWER IS NO!”

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Vic VerbalaitisNight Breaking News Reporter

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