Thousands Gather at Politicon Events

Politicians, celebrities and people who are just plain political junkies will gather in Pasadena beginning today for Politicon, a nonpartisan two-day event of panel discussions, meet-and-greets and lively discussion.

"The political climate in Washington has created so much division that this summer is a perfect time for people of all political stripes to come together for a weekend of smart political discussion, heated debate and quite a bit of fun," according to event organizers.

More than 8,000 people attended last year's event -- billed as an "Unconventional Political Convention" -- with an even bigger crowd anticipated at this year's gathering at the Pasadena Convention Center.

The event got a wave of publicity Friday when White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci, fresh off a profanity-laced interview with The New Yorker, announced he was dropping plans to attend.

But Politicon organizers took the snub as a chance to shine.

"While Anthony Scaramucci decided to cancel his scheduled appearance at Politicon this year, the beauty of Politicon is that we have dozens of huge names that political junkies will love, from Chelsea Handler, James Carville, America Ferrera, Cenk Uygur and Rob Reiner to Ann Coulter, Roger Stone, Tomi Lahren, Ben Shapiro and Ana Navarro," according to organizers. "At least now we don't have to worry about violating any local obscenity laws."

The two-day event will feature discussions with alluring titles such as "How Democrats Can Emerge from the Wilderness," "All the Presidents' Movies," "Trump: Genius or Lunatic," "Sex, Presidents and Handmaids Hosted by Lady Freak," "Trump vs. The Media," "Politics and Dirty Tricks," "Trump and the Giant Impeachment," "Mr. Trump, Tear Down This Wall" and "Now What, Republicans?"