Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) led a chorus of Democratic lawmakers roasting Donald Trump on Monday over the reportedly sparse crowds that have so far attended the Great American State Fair, which was supposed to be one of the centerpieces of the president’s celebrations marking America’s 250th anniversary.
MeidasTouch Network reporter Pablo Manríquez asked lawmakers on Capitol Hill why they thought “nobody is showing up” to the festivities on the National Mall, which have been widely mocked.
Ocasio-Cortez didn’t hesitate. “I mean, he ― we all know he clears a room, right? So, it’s not news that we’re breaking there,” she zinged.
Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) said she was “not surprised at all.”
“Nobody wants to be associated with the most corrupt president in American history, who has absolutely destroyed this country as he’s enriched himself and his family,” she added. “So, it was hilarious and pretty sad to see Fox with the empty background behind them trying to tout this as some sort of success.”
Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.) called it “pretty embarrassing out there.”
He said, “Donald Trump tried to turn America’s 250th anniversary into his own personal birthday party, and American people rejected that. We’re celebrating America, celebrating 250 years of this incredible democracy; we’re not celebrating Donald Trump.”
Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) blamed the low turnout “because it has all of Trump’s sensibilities.” He cracked, “Everything from algae to bad music. It’s Donald Trump, personified, so no one is showing up.”
Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.) offered a broader explanation: “It’s hard to be patriotic when they are dividing the country, and he is using this as a platform for his hate and cruelty, so people don’t get inspired by such nonsense.”
And Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.) called it “a missed opportunity to bring us together as a country,” adding he was “actually sad about it.”
He added, “Because Trump is who he is and only cares about himself and wants to be constantly feeding his own ego, he put together this shitty event that no one is at.”