President Donald Trump has billed the “Great American State Fair” as a patriotic World’s Fair featuring pavilions created by every US state and territory – but several US states will not participate.
Officials from Oregon, Washington, and North Carolina told CNN they declined an invitation from the Trump administration to showcase their states at the giant fairgrounds being built on the National Mall. Pennsylvania has yet to decide whether it will participate.
While officials said their states’ decisions were largely due to costs, a spokesperson for Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, a Democrat, pointed to concerns about the partisan nature of the event, set to open June 25 and last about two weeks.
“The State of Oregon will not be participating in the Great American State Fair due to both the cost of participating in the Fair and growing concerns that the event in Washington D.C. is shaping up to be a more partisan affair than originally presented,” spokesperson Luke Harkin said.
But all 50 states and territories will be represented even if some states don’t provide input, and details are still being “actively finalized,” a spokesperson for Freedom 250 told CNN.
