Great American State Fair attendees looking for official merchandise featuring Donald Trump’s face will be struck because none of the event items feature the president.
USA TODAY visited the fair on Tuesday, June 30, and primarily found T-shirts, hats, sweatshirts, scarves, bags and beach towels featuring the emblem of Freedom 250, the group that coordinates the event. Freedom 250 is tied to Task Force 250, a public-private partnership created by the White House in conjunction with federal agencies to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary.
The exceptions were two shirts featuring the Harley-Davidson logo with the tagline “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”
Items range in price from a few dollars to $200, especially sports jerseys with “America 26” embroidered on the front and “Freedom 26” on the back. One employee told USA TODAY that only one jersey has been sold since the event began.
Workers told USA TODAY that one of the most popular items is a blue T-shirt with a small “American 250” flag on the front and a “Freedom 250” flag on the back. The shirt also features the White House, President Trump’s Arch, the Washington Monument, and the festival’s Ferris wheel, and depicts Washington, D.C., from 1776 to 2026, along with the phrases “Freedom 250,” “Great American State Fair,” and “Celebrating 250 Years.”
The shirt retails for $35. Other popular items include baseball caps, which also sell for $35.
Several boxes of unsold merchandise were visible behind the counter, suggesting there was plenty of inventory, but employees told USA TODAY that sales were steady.
Fair attendees did not appear to be sporting the items. However, several attendees told USA TODAY they were wearing commemorative 250 shirts, two of which they purchased online.
USA TODAY contacted Freedom 250 on June 30 to ask why President Trump does not appear on the product and who profits from its sales.
President Trump appeared on the rally merchandise, but not on the fair’s official merchandise.
At President Trump’s opening rally on Wednesday, June 24, organizers sold T-shirts with the phrase “America is back” emblazoned over a collage of images of Trump at the expo, in front of a plane flying overhead, a military band playing in front of a packed crowd, and a Freedom 250 flag depicting an arch and a Ferris wheel. The shirt retailed for $35.
A “Make America Great Again”-style red hat with the same tagline was also on sale at Trump’s rally for $40, but neither item was available when USA TODAY visited the trade show on Tuesday.
The Great American State Fair runs through July 10 on the National Mall. A theme-based program is held every day. On Tuesday, “America’s Future: Innovation, Technology and Progress” featured a conversation between Homeland Security Undersecretary Pedro Allende and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin about revitalizing the nation’s capital.
A Guam cultural performance was also presented in the afternoon, featuring traditional music and dance.
What else does Trump’s face look like?
Trump’s face may not appear on merchandise at the Great American State Fair. However, the president will appear on limited edition U.S. Patriot Passports and gold coins.
Just last week, President Trump unveiled a new image of a special commemorative U.S. passport featuring his portrait to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary.
“Your new U.S. passport says, ‘Welcome, but good luck!’ President DJT,” Trump wrote in a June 26 post on Truth Social. According to the State Department, approximately 40,000 special edition passports will be issued and will be available starting July 6.
Trump’s portrait will also be etched onto a 24-karat gold commemorative coin after the President’s hand-picked advisory committee, the Fine Arts Commission, approves the overall design on March 19.
“His image is very strong, very tough,” Chamberlain Harris, a committee member and White House deputy director of Oval Office operations, said in March. “It is fitting that a sitting president preside over the 250th anniversary and appear on that year’s commemorative coin.”
Separately, the U.S. Treasury announced in January that it plans to issue a $1 Trump coin approved by the Fine Arts Commission.
President Trump’s face could be featured on the new $250 bill, separate from coins and passports, after the Treasury Department created a mockup of the bill in May. If the bill becomes reality, Trump would be the first living person to appear on U.S. banknotes in more than 150 years.
The chances of President Trump appearing on the $250 bill and making it official currency may be slim, as it will likely depend on the passage of a Republican-backed bill that has not made its way through Congress. In addition, federal law states that U.S. currency and securities can only carry “portraits of deceased individuals.” The ban on listing living people on banknotes dates back to 1866, when Congress took action after Treasury official Spencer Clark printed his face on banknotes.
A copy of the $250 bill obtained by The Washington Post shows Trump’s signature to the left of the president’s portrait and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s signature to the right. British painter Ian Alexander designed the portrait. The Post also reported that President Trump personally agreed to the design.
Contributors: Joey Garrison, Carissa Wadick, Saman Shafiq/USA TODAY
Michelle Del Rey is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Please contact mdelrey@usatoday.com.
