MS NOW host Jen Psaki said President Donald Trump’s Great American State Fair has been plagued by low attendance and “absolutely bizarre entertainment choices.”
In one clip, a few dozen people stood around as a man on stage defended the Salem witch trials, saying the only issue is they “weren’t organized enough,” and would have been better if they were “formalized” with “a grand inquisitor or something.”
She also showed footage of a stage falling apart while performers were rehearsing for a show.
“I mean, the whole thing has been quite an unmitigated disaster, and the level of embarrassment for Trump has been compounded by the fact that his favorite news channel has been broadcasting live from the event all week, showing just how sparsely attended it really was,” she said.
Psaki rolled a supercut of Fox News broadcasts from the event ― but first, she had instructions for viewers.
“I want you to pay very close attention to the live images of the National Mall behind the anchors while they are talking,” she said.
In the clips, the Fox News hosts talked up the event as “the biggest party,” claimed “thousands of people” were there, and insisted there was “a wash of people” in attendance who couldn’t be seen on camera.
But the field behind them showed a sparse crowd with very few people ― a scene that reportedly “enraged” Trump.
“Now, the reason I’m telling you this is not just to make fun of Donald Trump. The reason I’m telling you about it is because Donald Trump’s celebration of America’s 250th birthday is in many ways a reflection of the Trump administration itself,” Psaki said. “A bizarre two-bit right-wing circus that is deeply unpopular with the American people.”
She called the event a “perfect encapsulation” for the Trump presidency.
“The unpopularity, the poor execution, the focus on Trump and his ego, the rampant corruption and cronyism, the weaponization of justice,” she said. “It’s in some ways the story of Donald Trump’s presidency, a story we’re still getting new details about every day, seemingly every hour.”
That includes details on the $68 million in taxpayer funds that Trump spent on the event.
Psaki tried to trace where that money went in the segment below:
