Pennsylvania skipping Trump state fair celebration

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Pennsylvania is the latest Democratic-led state to say it is skipping “The Great American State Fair” happening on the National Mall.

“Unfortunately, due to the high cost to taxpayers and not being able to secure PA businesses to sponsor the booth, Pennsylvania will not be a participant in the Great American State Fair,” a spokesperson for the state’s Department of Community and Economic Development told The Hill on Friday.

The 16-day festivities are meant to showcase the history, tourism and traditions of each of the 50 states and six U.S. territories in celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

And while all of them are represented in some way, multiple states opted not to participate in the event themselves due to financial constraints and concerns that it was becoming more partisan than originally advertised.

The fair was organized by Freedom 250, a group commissioned by the Trump administration to plan a series of events marking the U.S. semi-quincentennial.

The group has maintained that its activities are not political and told The Hill earlier this week that every state and territory had been invited to join the fair.

“Freedom 250 is a nonpartisan organization, full stop — and our track record of collaboration across red, blue, and purple states speaks for itself,” spokesperson Rachel Reisner said.

But its events commemorating the nation’s birthday have also been heavily intertwined with President Trump, who kicked off the state fair with a speech on the National Mall and is also planning to hold a rally ahead of the annual July 4 fireworks show.

“On July 4th, at The Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument, in beautiful and safe Washington D.C., we are going to host the most spectacular TRUMP RALLY of them all, a ‘TRIBUTE TO AMERICA,’ the president wrote on Truth Social

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) pointed to Trump’s involvement when asked by the New Republic in a recent interview why his state would not be joining the fair.

“This president routinely makes patriotism partisan and personal—and it shouldn’t be that way,” Shapiro said.

The Democratic governor also told the outlet that his aides had enlisted the help of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce to try and find companies around the state that would be interested in representing the state at the fair, but none were.

“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,” he said.

Pennsylvania is one of eight states led by Democratic governors — also including Massachusetts, North Carolina, Washington, Illinois, Oregon, Connecticut and Maine — that chose not to send official representatives to the state fair, most of them citing budgetary concerns.

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America 250

Donald Trump

Great American State Fair

Josh Shapiro

National Mall

Pennsylvania

Trump administration

Washington D.C.

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