Where’s the party? No state dinner in Donald Trump’s first year
washington — President Donald Trump couldn’t stop talking about the red carpets, military parades and fancy dinners that were lavished upon him during state visits on his recent tour of Asia. “Magnificent,” he declared at one point on the trip.
But Trump has yet to reciprocate, making him the first president in almost a century to close his first year in office without welcoming a visiting counterpart to the US with similar trappings.
Trump spoke dismissively of state dinners as a candidate, when he panned President Barack Obama’s decision to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping with a 2015 state visit. Such visits are an important diplomatic tool that includes a showy arrival ceremony and an elaborate dinner at the White House.
“I would not be throwing (Xi) a dinner,” Trump said at the time. “I would get him a McDonald’s hamburger and say we’ve got to get down to work.” Last month it was Xi’s turn to literally roll out the red carpet. The Chinese leader poured on the pageantry as he welcomed Trump to Beijing on what was billed as a “state visit, plus.” Trump also made state visits to South Korea and Vietnam.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said there is no “singular reason” why Trump hasn’t extended a state visit invitation yet, but added that the administration hopes to schedule a visit early in 2018. Sanders gave no hints about which of Trump’s foreign counterparts are being considered for the diplomatic honour.
A state visit typically is offered as a sign of friendship and to showcase strategic ties between countries that are important to each other, said Anita McBride, a veteran of three Republican administrations who last served as chief of staff to first lady Laura Bush.
“The White House is the world stage to elevate that,” she said. “These occasions really go a long way to solidify and strengthen relationships.” Trump speaks often about his relationships with many of his foreign counterparts, including Xi. Trump and the Chinese leader met at Trump’s Florida estate in April, and Trump treated Xi to a full dinner — not the aforementioned burger — and what Trump described as “the most beautiful piece of chocolate cake.”
“President Xi was enjoying it,” the president reported.
Trump has also met at the White House, sometimes over lunch as well as abroad, with many of his foreign counterparts. He recently put the figure at more than 100. But nothing compares to a state visit.
The White House portion of the visit begins with an elaborate arrival ceremony on the South Lawn, including the pomp of a military honor guard, a troop review and leader statements. The leaders meet privately in the Oval Office before they hold a joint news conference in the East Room or the Rose Garden. — AP