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Massachusetts woman steps in after 'shameful' Dem governor boycotts Great American State Fair

Fox News reports a Massachusetts woman volunteered to staff her state's booth at the Great American State Fair after Gov. Maura Healey and other Democratic governors declined to participate. The article says 11 Democratic-led states skipped the fair and quotes Healey accusing the event/Trump of seeking personal profit and saying states were being charged to participate.

Open the original Fox News article ↗

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“Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said President Trump is "using the fair to get money into his own pocket" and claimed states were being charged to participate in the fair.”

Attributed to Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (as quoted in Fox News)

✓ Proof standard met 5 reachable references Independent-source requirement passed
Original context and attribution

The article reports Healey, in an interview with Boston Public Radio, mocked the fair and reportedly accused Trump of personal profiteering from the event and asserted that states were being charged to take part.

What the proof shows

Governor Healey did make the remarks attributed to her on Boston Public Radio (she said Trump “invited all the states to participate and wants to charge us…” and accused him of “using the fair to get money into his own pocket”). However, organizers (Freedom250) say there was no required fee for states to participate and public reporting shows the financial issue cited by many governors was the cost of staffing and mounting multi-week exhibits (estimates of $100K–$1M), not a flat mandatory participation charge imposed by the organizer. I found no public, authoritative evidence showing the fair paid money directly to Trump or the Trump Organization such that the claim he was “getting money into his own pocket” is substantiated. In short: Healey did say these things, but the factual claims in them (that states were being charged by the organizer and that Trump was personally profiting) are not supported by available public records and contemporary reporting and are contradicted by Freedom250’s public statement about participation costs.

Corrected version

During a Boston Public Radio interview, Gov. Maura Healey said President Trump “invited all the states to participate and wants to charge us” and accused him of “using the fair to get money into his own pocket.” Available reporting shows Freedom250 says there was no required fee for states to take part; many states declined because mounting and staffing an exhibit would likely cost $100,000–$1,000,000. There is no public evidence that payments from the fair were directed to Trump personally or to the Trump Organization.

Automated evidence confidence: 0%

References and proof

Every link was reachable when published. Each proof point states how that source bears on the claim.

Independent reporting Supports

What — and who — will be at the Great American State Fair? Here's a primer ↗

WBUR/NPR
Proof point

Speaking to GBH News' Boston Public Radio earlier this month, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey ... said Trump "invited all the states to participate and wants to charge us to go down and put something on his exhibit."

Independent reporting Supports

Trump’s ‘Great American State Fair’ Is In 2 Days—These States Aren’t Showing Up ↗

Forbes
Proof point

Maura Healey, D-Mass., ... Healy accused the president of using the fair to “get money into his own pocket.”

Independent reporting Contradicts

Massachusetts woman steps in after 'shameful' Dem governor boycotts Great American State Fair ↗

Fox News
Proof point

Meanwhile, Healey ... mocked the fair in an interview with Boston Public Radio. She also claimed, without evidence, that Trump is using the fair to "get money into his own pocket," and falsely claimed that states were being charged to participate in the fair.

Independent reporting Contradicts

What — and who — will be at the Great American State Fair? Here's a primer (KUOW re-post of NPR piece) ↗

KUOW/NPR
Proof point

Each state and territory gets about 600 square feet to build its exhibit, with no set dollar amount required to participate, according to Freedom250. ... "Our ask was not your government entity must do this and give money; it was an invitation to the state to represent their culture," Reisner, the Freedom250 spokesperson, wrote in an email.

Independent reporting Supports

Pennsylvania working with Freedom 250 to have Keystone State presence at Trump’s ‘Great Fair’ in Washington ↗

The Philadelphia Inquirer
Proof point

"He invited all the states to participate and wants to charge us. Charge us to go down and put something on his exhibit," Democratic Gov. Maura Healey, of Massachusetts, said in a Boston Public Radio interview earlier this month.

COMMUNITY EVIDENCE

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