Dismal detail about Trump's fair flagged by reporter: 'Think about any outdoor event'

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 out Georgia'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 a signature kind of indicator of a state fair is the food lines, and they were empty, and, I mean, think about any outdoor event. Even in this heat, the food line is always packed. If nothing else, you would think people were flocking to 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 America 250 celebrations has just by his involvement further politicized it and then, because he wrestled control away from the bipartisan commission set up by Congress, also further politicized it," she said. "Also just the execution, I think, was a little off. Just as a visitor, I was online trying to find out schedules or even where the entrances and exits are. They're just there's very basic information online, and so I think what people are reading doesn't necessarily get them to come out."

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