A ferris wheel on the National Mall ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's opening remarks for the Great American State Fair, near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 24, 2026. REUTERS/Tom Brenner
Tiffany Haddish turned President Donald Trump's own hype against him Monday night, unloading a pair of gut-punch one-liners about her bat mitzvah and her DUI trial that had a Jimmy Kimmel Live! audience roaring.
Guest-hosting the ABC show, Haddish teed up the bit by reminding viewers that Trump had personally guaranteed his Great American State Fair would be "packed to the brim." The program then cut to news clips of reporters praising heavy attendance while the camera panned across visibly sparse crowds on the National Mall, according to Mediaite.
The montage included a Fox News segment that framed the same sparse scenes as festivities "in full swing" with "thousands of people" on hand, per The Daily Beast. One anchor tried to salvage the spin in real time, telling viewers that "sometimes the pictures really don't tell the full story."
Haddish wasn't buying it.
"I'mma be honest with y'all. There was more people at my bat mitzvah," she joked, before following it with the kicker: "I am going to be real honest with you – there was more people at my DUI trial."
Haddish is due to stand trial next month in Fayette County, Georgia, on charges stemming from a January 2022 arrest in Peachtree City, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
The 16-day fair, run by Trump's Freedom 250 organization, has been plagued by more than empty booths. Power outages on opening day disrupted the 110-foot Ferris wheel and melted the ice cream, Forbes reported, and multiple musical acts — including Martina McBride and Poison frontman Bret Michaels — pulled out over the event's partisan tilt.
Trump has bristled at every suggestion the party fizzled. On June 29, he posted on Truth Social, "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?"
He later claimed the fair drew 45,000 attendees on a single night, an assertion he offered without evidence.
Haddish also skewered Trump's delayed Fourth of July address, which was pushed back after severe storms forced an evacuation of the Mall. "Trump was forced to delay his Fourth of July speech due to the hot and stormy weather," she said. "In fact, some MAGA fans had to seek shelter in the African-American history museum."
As the applause built, she added: "You're welcome, again."