Trump first daughter and White House aide Ivanka Trump and her husband, top aide Jared Kushner, are among the few boldfaced-name guests attending the Trump administration's first state dinner, for France, on Tuesday.
Other guests included media titan Rupert Murdoch and his fourth wife, Jerry Hall Murdoch, the former American model; Hervé Pierre Braillard, the French-American fashion designer who is a favorite of first lady Melania Trump; and Apple CEO Tim Cook, who was accompanied by Lisa Jackson, a former EPA chief-turned-vice president at Apple.
The guest list of about 130 people was noticeably short of the kind of superstar entertainers who used to turn up regularly at the bashes hosted by former President Barack Obama.
Instead, the guest list was dominated by Republican and administration heavyweights, such as former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and his wife, Nancy; Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and his controversial wife, Scottish-born actress Louise Linton; French-born IMF chief Christine Lagarde; cosmetics chief and former ambassador Ronald Lauder; and two Winter Olympians who flashed medals on their way into the pre-dinner reception Tuesday.
Plus, a clutch of White House staffers are there, including chief of staff John Kelly; Secretary of Defense James Mattis; press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders; and top aide Stephen Miller.
The White House on Monday made a point of stressing that the first lady, 47, was involved in every detail of the dinner honoring French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, according to Trump spokeswoman Sanders at her Monday press briefing.
The first lady selected a menu of rack of lamb and nectarine tart, along with after-dinner entertainment provided by the Washington National Opera.
The color scheme was cream and gold and the china settings consist of the Bill Clinton china for the baseplate, along with both George W. Bush and Clinton china for the dinner service.
The relatively intimate State Dining Room featured more than 2,500 stems of white sweet peas and nearly 1,000 stems of white lilac — both California and Dutch-grown mixed.
The full menu is as follows:
First Course:
Goat cheese gateau
Tomato jam
Buttermilk biscuit crumbles
Young variegated lettuces
Main Course:
Rack of Spring lamb
Burnt cipollini soubise
Carolina Gold rice jambalaya
Dessert:
Nectarine tart
Crème fraîche ice cream