SURPRISING FACT
Observers noted Maine’s unmanned booth was among the most muted, with Boston Globe reporter Sam Brodey tweeting: “Maine did not send any delegation, so there’s just an empty room with some chairs and walls with lobster and Maine facts.”
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CHIEF CRITICS
Photos and video of the small crowds, a lack of seating and near empty food booths were widely mocked on social media, while the Daily Beast called the event “virtually deserted” and The Atlantic noted in a headline: “The Great American State Fair isn’t very great.”
Crucial Quote
“There’s nice people, nice events, nice family events,” Sharyn Bovat, an attendee, told the Associated Press. “Half the country is divided with the other half. I wish they would create a USA 250 for all the people. I’m tired of the politics.” Bovat said a replica of the Trump’s proposed Triumphal Arch gave the fair a political undertone and told the AP it “makes me think of Germany.”
Key Background
The fair is organized by Freedom 250, a public-private partnership created by the White House. The event, which will run until July 10 and is free to the public, kicked off Thursday with a speech from President Donald Trump. The president has claimed his speech garnered a live audience of 45,000 people, though estimates and posts from multiple outlets have disputed the number. Trump’s speech worked as a replacement for a series of musical artists who were scheduled to perform at the fair but bowed out over concerns the event had become partisan. Country singer Martina McBride said in a statement she was initially asked to “perform at a nonpartisan event but that turned out to be misleading.” Poison frontman Bret Michaels said the fair “evolved into something much more divisive than what I agreed to be a part of.”
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Further Reading
Only A Few Acts Remain In Trump’s ‘Great American State Fair’—And 1 Isn’t Talking (Forbes)
Trump’s ‘Great American State Fair’ Is In 2 Days—These States Aren’t Showing Up (Forbes)
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