Organizers of Donald Trump’s latest patriotic MAGA spectacle are scrambling to fill seats and avoid the empty crowds of the Great American State Fair.
The Patriot Games were framed by the president as an “unprecedented” extravaganza pitting America’s “greatest high school athletes”—one male and one female from each state and territory—against each other to celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday.
The four-day sporting event has brought together 120 students aged 14 to 17 from across the country to compete for $250,000 in college scholarships.
But with Trump due to appear at the finale in Ohio on Tuesday, Freedom 250—the same MAGA-aligned group that oversaw the Great American State Fair and other semiquincentennial celebrations—has been bombarding people with emails, desperate to ensure the president draws a decent-sized crowd.
“YOU WILL NOT WANT TO MISS THIS,” read the latest email blast, urging recipients to RSVP as soon as possible.
“President Donald J. Trump. Athletes from across the country battling for $250,000 in scholarships. A once-in-a-lifetime event—and you can be there as part of the live audience for the ESPN on ABC nationally televised prime-time special.”
Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks, left) and Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) in The Hunger Games.
Murray Close / LionsgateTrump announced the Patriot Games in December, drawing immediate comparisons to the Hunger Games, the 2012 movie in which a wealthy regime forces 12 poor districts to send their teenagers to fight to the death on live television.
“May the odds be ever in your favor,” California Governor Gavin Newsom said at the time, referencing the movie’s most iconic line.
The Daily Beast’s political newsletter The Swamp also revealed in June that hopefuls were asked to submit video auditions, promote the event on social media, and answer a myriad of questions about what America means to them. Applicants also had to agree to extensive filming as part of a televised production.
The competition finally kicked off on Saturday, with participants, most of whom happen to be white, competing in front of their family and friends, as well as other invite-only attendees and officials.
Events so far included dodgeball, kickball, and a military-style “endurance test” filled with tire tosses, monkey bars, a balancing beam, and net climbing.
Participants have also been given swanky dorm-style accommodation and plenty of free merchandise from Patriot Games hats, T-shirts and water bottles, to Freedom 250 caps.
“Let me show you everything I got in my swag bag,” Chris Brennan, who is representing North Carolina, beamed in an Instagram video.
But the event has already received scrutiny. CNN, for example, has reported that some participants were selected, in part, for their support of Trump’s political movement and Christian faith. Many are homeschooled or attend private Christian schools, and some do not actually live in the states they are representing.
“I get a bunch of questions like, why are you representing Massachusetts and not your home state?” 16-year-old participant Bobbi Vickers, who goes to school in California, told CNN.
The Daily Beast on Monday asked Freedom 250 to explain the selection process, how the event is being financed, and why the competition mysteriously moved from Washington, D.C. to an obscure sporting academy in Ohio in July. So far, the group has refused to answer.
It has, however, continued to send out blasts urging people to attend.
“After three days of fierce competition, only eight athletes remain. The nation’s top high school athletes take the field one final time in the 2026 Patriot Games Finale, where one male and one female competitor will be crowned the inaugural 2026 Patriot Games champions,” it said in a statement.
“Show your state pride by wearing your home state jersey or your favorite athletic apparel,” they said. “Help create an electric atmosphere as we celebrate the nation’s best high school athletes at the 2026 Patriot Games Finale.”
Trump’s appearance comes on the heels of the Great American State Fair, which was widely mocked at the time for its small crowds, lackluster pavilions and MAGA decor.
