White House fetes leader of Australia
Trump administration has second state dinner
WASHINGTON — A glittering crowd of American and Australian luminaries gathered under the stars Friday in the White House Rose Garden.
Not long before the president and first lady Melania Trump stepped out of the White House front door and welcomed Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his wife, Jenny, Defense Secretary Mark Esper announced the deployment of additional U.S. troops to the Persian Gulf region. At the same time, a controversy intensified over a conversation President Donald Trump had with Ukraine’s new president.
Some guests attending the second state dinner of the Trump administration sought to keep the conversation on the lighter side.
“I’m looking forward to celebrating tonight,” Republican Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina said when he was asked about the day’s breaking news.
Music wafted across the South Lawn just below an illuminated White House as guests descended the outside staircases to join the garden party.
Guests, including several Cabinet secretaries, members of Congress, White House staff and an Australian delegation that included native son and pro golfer Greg Norman, were seated at a mix of round and rectangular tables draped in alternating yellow and green tablecloths in tribute to Australia’s national colors and dined on sunchoke ravioli, Dover sole and apple tart a la mode. Temporary flooring was laid over the grass.
Morrison, who has been in office for a little over a year, thanked Trump for the “tremendous honor.”