CNN correspondent Kaitlan Collins trolled President Donald Trump’s Great American State Fair by showing just how few people showed up to the week-long event.
Standing on the National Mall Thursday among a sparse crowd, Collins said “for a president who often fixates on crowd size, so far the fair on Washington’s National Mall hasn’t exactly lived up to the hype.”
The fair was intended to showcase goods and culture across America’s 50 states. However, when Trump has been accused of ‘hijacking’ events around America’s 250th birthday to make them about himself. The fair was opened with sparse booths and limited attractions. This, combined with D.C.’s ongoing heatwave, has resulted in minimal crowds attending and a lot of mockery on social media.
Now, with the president due to address the nation from the fair on the 4th of July, Collins has said there is “growing angst inside the White House” over the day’s “potentially underwhelming showing” due to triple-digit temperatures and strict security measures.
CNN showed footage from America’s 200th birthday that showed a stark difference between Trump’s event and the celebrations 50 years ago, with packed crowds attending picnics and marching band shows along the Mall. Per Collins, in 1976, “thousands of people flocked to the National Mall to celebrate.”
That footage was contrasted on the program with a sparse crowd sitting around on bleachers this week.
Despite significant reporting that the fair has been lightly attended, the president took to Truth Social to say that is is “packed with happy people.”
According to New Jersey Democratic Rep. Bonnie Coleman, who was on the original planning committee for the event: “Freedom250 is [Trump’s] vanity project…he has denigrated the essence of the celebration. It doesn’t appear to be well attended.”
Controversies surrounding the fair included a Confederate Flag hanging in the North Carolina booth, nearly every singer booked to perform pulling out over political disagreements, and booths shutting down due to failing air conditioning in the extreme heat, with some comparing the event to the infamous Fyre Festival.
Videos released of the main stage show a piece of the stage falling off close to dancers mid-rehearsal. And, another video of the speaker series shows former Bachelor contestant turned Evangelical preacher, Madi Prewitt Trout, speaking to a near-empty audience.
The president is scheduled to give a Fourth of July speech on the National Mall on Saturday evening. He has said he is not bothered by the heat wave, and is willing to give a speech in 107-degree heat.
Following his speech, the president is planning on setting off fireworks for 40 minutes in an attempt to break the world record for fireworks. Firework manufacturers have said this will cost many millions of dollars, but the White House is yet to disclose exactly how much they are spending and how they obtained the funds.
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