A reporter pointed out a dismal detail that serves as a leading indicator of just how poorly attended President Donald Trump's state fair has been.
The Great American State Fair leading up to the July 4 celebration of the nation's 250th birthday has prompted grim fascination and drawn comparisons to the disastrous Fyre Festival, and Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Tia Mitchell told "CNN News Central" about her own experience at the event.
"I went out there this week to check outGeorgia's tent, check out the vibes," said Mitchell, the paper's Washington bureau chief. "You're right,there weren't a lot of people there. I think asignature kind of indicator of a state fair is the foodlines, and they were empty, and, I mean, think about any outdoor event. Even inthis heat, the food line is always packed. Ifnothing else, you would think people were flockingto get water or something to drink."
The 80-year-old president stood up a competing group, Freedom 250, to the bipartisan, congressionally mandated America250 organization to organize events around the semiquincentennial, and Mitchell said that had injected partisan politics around the celebration that had dampened interest for many Americans.
"Trump, for better or for worse, his involvement,his administration's involvement in these America250 celebrations has just by his involvement further politicizedit and then, because he wrestled control away fromthe bipartisan commission set up by Congress, alsofurther politicized it," she said. "Also just theexecution, I think, was a little off. Just as avisitor, I was online trying to find out schedulesor even where the entrances and exits are. They'rejust there's very basic information online, and soI think what people are reading doesn'tnecessarily get them to come out."