WASHINGTON — The gloomy, overcast weather on Saturday didn’t disturb visitors who attended the first weekend of President Donald Trump’s Great American State Fair, an event commemorating America’s 250th anniversary on the National Mall.Limited time: Save 25% on NBC News subscriptionGet exclusive reporting, live Q&As and ad-free reading.The fair features food and culture booths from all 56 states and territories, plus displays from federal government agencies in temporary halls lining several blocks of the Mall that kept attendees dry while it drizzled at some points on Saturday morning.
In the middle, a massive Ferris wheel extends into the sky, just beyond a scaled-down replica of the arch Trump hopes to build permanently in the capital.The arch is one of the president’s marquee projects to remake Washington, D.C., alongside his mission to repaint the Reflecting Pool and to put his name next to former President John F.
Kennedy’s on the Kennedy Center.Some of the projects have faced legal challenges and earlier this month, Trump’s name was removed from the side of the performing arts center at the direction of a federal judge.And the reflecting pool, which was meant to be the shade of “American flag blue,” has faced physical challenges, including an algae bloom and chipping paint.The state fair has been promoted by Trump and members of his administration, who have been accused of injecting partisanship into a nonpartisan anniversary.
The fair features food and culture booths from all 56 states and territories.Nick Mason / ZUMA Press Wire via ReutersBut over a dozen attendees at the fair on Saturday — on both sides of the political aisle — told NBC News that they did not feel the atmosphere at the fair had any kind of political tint even as Trump has tried to redesign Washington, D.C., in his image and as musical acts dropped out of the event.“It’s kind of neat because here it’s just been all about America, and I haven’t seen the...