Trump Held a Fair And (Almost) No One Came

Episode of Pod Save America · June 30, 2026 · 1 h 16 min

Jon Favreau, Tommy Vietor and Jon Lovett discuss Trump's sparsely attended state fair, Supreme Court rulings, the housing bill and DSA, then Favreau interviews DLCC president Heather Williams.

Summary

Jon Favreau, Tommy Vietor and Jon Lovett opened by mocking the sparse crowds, weather problems, and artist cancellations at Trump's Great American State Fair on the National Mall, run by his Freedom 250 entity, along with Fox News's upbeat coverage and the arrest of a MAGA live-streamer. Lovett argued Trump had turned a bipartisan, decade-long semiquincentennial plan into a partisan boondoggle. They also covered Trump's plans for Lafayette Park, the East Potomac golf course, a Trump passport, and taxpayer-funded White House colonnade work.

The hosts then reviewed Monday's Supreme Court decisions: the E. Jean Carroll verdict left intact, a 6-3 ruling requiring specific warrants for cell phone location history, a 6-3 ruling allowing Trump to fire FTC commissioner Rebecca Slaughter while a 5-4 ruling let Fed governor Lisa Cook stay in her job pending litigation, and a 5-4 ruling upholding Mississippi's counting of late-arriving mail ballots. Vietor called the FTC decision very bad for overturning 91 years of precedent, and Lovett argued it transferred congressional power to the president. They then discussed Trump dismissing the bipartisan housing bill as 'a big yawn' compared to the SAVE America Act; Favreau predicted Trump would let it become law.

On the intra-Democratic debate over Democratic Socialists after New York primaries, Vietor aligned with Chris Murphy's position and called Josh Gottheimer's 'socialists aren't Democrats' framing counterproductive, while Lovett and Favreau urged a big-tent coalition in which candidates can openly disagree with DSA positions. They condemned hecklers who confronted Scott Wiener at San Francisco's Trans March over Israel, with Lovett calling it antisemitism.

In the interview, Heather Williams described state legislatures as central to election certification, named Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Pennsylvania as key 2026 targets, said 19 seats could yield six new majorities and four trifectas, and discussed gerrymandering, the attention battle facing low-profile candidates, recruitment, and a roughly plus-four environment.

Chapters

1:28
Trump's Great American State Fair
The hosts mock the sparse crowds, cancellations, Fox coverage, and a live-streamer's arrest at Trump's Freedom 250 state fair.
12:49
Trump's monuments to himself
Favreau lists Trump's plans for the East Potomac golf course, Lafayette Park's 47 maples, a Trump passport, and the taxpayer-funded colonnade.
17:06
Supreme Court: Carroll and geofence warrants
The hosts discuss the Carroll verdict standing and a ruling that location history requires a specific warrant.
23:06
Supreme Court: independent agencies and the Fed
The hosts debate the Slaughter ruling letting Trump fire FTC commissioners and the Cook ruling protecting the Fed.
29:48
Mail-in ballot ruling
The court's 5-4 decision upholding Mississippi's counting of late-arriving mail ballots is assessed.
30:54
Trump and the housing bill
The hosts criticize Trump for calling the bipartisan housing bill a yawn compared to the SAVE America Act.
Linked moment · 39:22Skip to 39:22 using a listen link in the info box.
39:22
Democratic Socialists and the party debate
After New York primaries, the hosts discuss DSA momentum, Gottheimer's comments, and building a broad coalition.
51:59
Scott Wiener heckled at Trans March
The hosts condemn hecklers who confronted Wiener over Israel, with Lovett calling it antisemitism.
59:17
Heather Williams on state legislative battlegrounds
Williams explains state legislatures' role in elections and the DLCC's 2026 target map.
1:03:25
Gerrymandering and state-level challenges
Williams discusses strategies in gerrymandered states, the attention battle, and direct voter contact.
1:08:29
Recruitment and localizing politics
Williams describes candidate recruitment, who is running, and why state legislators outperform the national brand.
1:14:03
Chambers to watch
Williams names Minnesota and Arizona as chambers to watch and describes a roughly plus-four environment.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

Tommy Vietor
Vietor calls the government's argument that limited location history requests are not searches nonsense.
“the government was trying to argue that just demanding just a little tiny taste of your location history for a discrete period of time was not a search, which is just nonsense”
Listen from 18:58 · Geofence warrants
Tommy Vietor
Vietor calls the FTC ruling very bad for discarding 91 years of precedent.
“Now, I think the FTC case is very bad. They threw out 91 years of precedent”
Listen from 24:01 · Trump v. Slaughter
Jon Favreau
Favreau concludes that after the rulings the Fed is the only remaining independent agency.
“I think that the upshot of this whole thing is there are no more independent agencies except for the Fed”
Listen from 28:54 · Trump v. Slaughter
Tommy Vietor
Vietor says the mail ballot ruling lets about 30 states keep their ballot-counting policies.
“I think it allows like 30 states to keep their policies in place in terms of how they count mail-in ballots”
Listen from 30:25 · Postal voting in the United States
Jon Favreau Came true
Favreau predicts Trump will let the bipartisan housing bill become law rather than veto it.
“you know listening to the whole thing there he's gonna let it become law”
Listen from 36:09 · Housing affordability in the United States
Tommy Vietor
Vietor says the main lesson of the New York primaries is voters' anger at the establishment.
“I think my big takeaway from the New York elections is how much voters hate the establishment and the status quo”
Listen from 41:54 · Democratic Socialists of America
Tommy Vietor
Vietor calls Gottheimer's framing that socialists are not Democrats reductive and counterproductive.
“I think it's just reductive and stupid and not helpful. It's counterproductive”
Listen from 43:53 · Democratic Socialists of America
Jon Favreau
Favreau advises frontline Democrats to openly distance themselves from DSA positions they disagree with.
“don't be afraid to distance yourself from DSA positions that you disagree with”
Listen from 48:22 · Democratic Socialists of America
Tommy Vietor
Vietor argues the Wiener hecklers hurt their own movement and made Wiener sympathetic.
“The people filming this stuff ultimately make their movement look bad. They make Wiener look sympathetic”
Listen from 53:54 · Antisemitism
Jon Favreau
Favreau urges pro-Palestinian organizers to publicly condemn the confrontation with Wiener.
“it would behoove people on the left and especially people who have been marching and organizing in protest for Palestinian rights”
Listen from 56:07 · Antisemitism
Heather Williams
Williams says 2026 offers chances to create new Democratic majorities in presidential battleground states.
“In 2026, we have real opportunities to create new majorities in our presidential battleground states”
Listen from 59:42 · Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee
Heather Williams
Williams says winning 19 seats in key battlegrounds would create six new majorities and four new trifectas.
“winning just 19 seats in those states will build six new majorities and four new trifectas”
Listen from 1:02:39 · 2026 United States midterm elections
Heather Williams
Williams says Democrats in gerrymandered states need a court strategy alongside electoral work.
“we are thinking about a court strategy alongside our electoral strategy”
Listen from 1:05:08 · Redistricting in the United States
Heather Williams
Williams identifies the battle for voter attention, not money, as a core challenge for state legislative candidates.
“The attention battle, right? These races are, you know, folks know these candidates less”
Listen from 1:06:16 · Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee
Heather Williams
Williams says direct voter contact by candidates is the most important element of state legislative races.
“The direct voter contact by the candidates is the most important thing that these races do”
Listen from 1:07:39 · Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee
Heather Williams
Williams reports Democrats have already flipped 30 state legislative seats this cycle, some in deep-red districts.
“We've already flipped 30 seats. Some of these have been in ruby red districts”
Listen from 1:09:39 · 2026 United States midterm elections
Heather Williams
Williams estimates a roughly plus-four Democratic environment that could flip over 600 legislative seats.
“roughly a plus four environment that we're seeing at our ballot level. Um, that means that we could flip as many as 600 plus seats”
Listen from 1:14:58 · 2026 United States midterm elections

People

In the conversation

Jon FavreauCo-host of Pod Save America and former speechwriter for President Barack Obama
Tommy VietorCo-host of Pod Save America and Pod Save the World who conducted the Josh Turek interview
Jon LovettCo-host of Pod Save America; diarization split of the same speaker during the economics segment
Heather WilliamsPresident of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee

Discussed

E. Jean CarrollWriter who won a sexual abuse and defamation verdict against Trump
Rebecca SlaughterFTC commissioner whose firing led to the Supreme Court case
Lisa CookFederal Reserve governor Trump attempted to fire
Bill PulteFHFA director named acting Director of National Intelligence
Larry KudlowFox Business host who covered the state fair
Scott WienerCalifornia state legislator running for Nancy Pelosi's seat
Josh GottheimerDemocratic congressman who said socialists are not Democrats
Sonia SotomayorSupreme Court justice cited for opinions in the location and agency cases
Elena KaganSupreme Court justice who read her dissent from the bench
Neil GorsuchAssociate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and co-author of Heroes of 1776
John RobertsChief Justice of the United States
Brian SchatzDemocratic senator involved in housing bill investor provision
Diana DeGetteColorado congresswoman facing a DSA primary challenge
Alexandria Ocasio-CortezCongresswoman ranked sixth by Halperin among 2028 Democrats
Bernie SandersU.S. Senator from Vermont who discussed mail-in ballots before the 2020 election
Melissa HortmanMinnesota legislative leader assassinated along with her husband in 2025
Ben WicklerFormer Wisconsin Democratic Party chair
Vanilla IceRapper who canceled his state fair performance

Topics

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From the publisher

Trump's "Great American State Fair" draws almost no visitors — except for a MAGA live-streamer who gets arrested for public masturbation. Jon, Tommy, and Lovett react to Fox News's cope-heavy coverage of the fair and then discuss Monday's Supreme Court rulings on independent agencies and mail-in ballots, Trump losing interest in Congress's housing bill, and the momentum Democratic Socialists are feeling after last week's primary wins in New York City. Then, Heather Williams, the president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, stops by the studio to talk to Jon about building Democratic majorities in state houses across the country. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here . For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast, episode title, and episode date.

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 29, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Politics·Government·News Commentary