Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) have taken matters into their own hands to secure Pennsylvania's participation in the Great American State Fair on the National Mall, bypassing Gov. Josh Shapiro after his administration said it couldn't find a business sponsor for the state's booth.
In a press release Saturday, McCormick's office announced a bipartisan coalition of Pennsylvania organizations that will fund and operate the state's presence at the event, which commemorates the nation's 250th birthday. The effort relies entirely on private partnerships, with no taxpayer money involved.
“Celebrating America’s 250th birthday and Pennsylvania’s special role in our country is important and bipartisan,” Fetterman said in a statement. “We discovered our Commonwealth wasn’t participating in the Great American State Fair on the National Mall and we should be.”
The move highlights the growing rift between Fetterman and Shapiro, a potential 2028 presidential contender, as Fetterman has increasingly broken with his party during Donald Trump's second term. Shapiro had told The New Republic that no businesses were interested in sponsoring the booth, blaming President Trump for politicizing the event.
“It reflects this sad state of affairs that we find ourselves in — that the president has politicized this to a degree that businesses don’t want to participate,” Shapiro said.
But the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry offered a different account. Jon Anzur, the chamber's senior vice president of public affairs, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that the state's request for help came just two weeks before the event, making it difficult for businesses to commit. “While there was interest, the short time frame made it difficult for many businesses to fully commit,” Anzur said, adding that the chamber is now reengaging those companies as part of the senators' effort.
Pennsylvania is one of several Democratic-led states that initially opted out of the fair, organized by Freedom 250, a Trump-administration-commissioned group. The fair is designed to showcase each state's history, tourism, and traditions. However, some states have cited financial and partisan concerns for skipping the event.
The controversy also extends to the fair's entertainment lineup. A scheduled Freedom 250 concert saw about half a dozen musical acts withdraw, with some claiming they were unaware of the event's political ties. Weather ultimately forced the cancellation of a Vanilla Ice concert planned as part of the festivities, following a broader artist boycott.
Fetterman's decision to step in underscores his willingness to buck his party's leadership. His prickly relationship with Shapiro has been on display before, including after Shapiro's primary win when Fetterman dismissed critics with what he called a “dirtbag left” attack. That episode further strained ties between the two Democratic figures.
With the bipartisan coalition now in place, Pennsylvania will have a presence at the fair after all. The question remains whether Shapiro's initial explanation — that no businesses were interested — was accurate, or whether the tight timeline was the real culprit. Either way, Fetterman and McCormick have ensured the Keystone State won't be absent from the National Mall celebration.
