"Disarray and Conflict" - 6 states have pulled out of the 250th 'State Fair' and Department of Interior won’t turn over pledged money

essentialsaltes said:

Inside America’s Ugly Birthday Battle​

The Trump administration broke an agreement to fund the bipartisan semiquincentennial celebrations, saying it will not “light taxpayer money on fire.”

planners envisioned a Smithsonian-led blockbuster festival stretching from the Washington Monument to the U.S. Capitol that would be open to all and free of partisanship. They wanted a party bigger than the Folklife Festival, an annual two-week summer exhibition, and much longer-lasting. This new “Festival of Festivals” would focus on the semiquincentennial, with four to six weeks of performances, workshops, and displays to “celebrate the nation’s successes,” “contemplate the consequences of our history,” and “commit to advancing our multicultural democracy,” according to a November 27, 2023, memo that I obtained.

Alternet takes over...

Trump’s Department of Interior won’t turn over pledged money for America 250 event​

Then Trump took control of the event, renamed it the "Great American State Fair" and claimed it would feature exhibits from all 50 states. At least six of the 50 states are backing out of attending the event due to either costs or scheduling conflicts. The event has now fallen into "disarray and conflict," according to documents and interviews done by Scherer. [I understand the organizers are saying every state will be represented, even if by a corporate entity based in the state.]

Now the Department of the Interior is refusing to honor its agreement from December, in which it pledged to transfer $50 million in congressional appropriations before Feb. 1.

An unsigned statement from the press office at the Department of Interior said, “Spending taxpayer money on frivolous, poorly attended events... [is something they're not gonna do]"

Trump has created his own event called Freedom 250 instead of America 250, while America 250 is a bipartisan effort passed by Congress in 2016 to begin planning the events around the country.

“America250 can’t get over the fact that Trump won,” said Trump’s former co–campaign manager Chris LaCivita. [Trump can't get over the fact that this money has been appropriated by Congress.]

The feud became public last month when nearly all of the acts recruited to play at the concert withdrew because didn't want to be part of something overtly partisan. Trump has since said the concert will become a MAGA event he's calling the a “Rally to end all Rallies."

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Pommer said:

There was a hashtag that Rick Wilson had for these sorts of things during Trump 1.0, it escapes me at the moment.

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