President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump hosted Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his wife, Jenny, for their second White House state dinner.
Mr. Morrison is just the second world leader to be given a state dinner by President Trump after France’s Emmanuel Macron.
”Australians and Americans understand each other like few other people,” Mr Morrison said. “We have done what true friends do: stick by each other.”
Both Trump and Morrison opted for navy blue suits, though the president wore a red and navy striped tie while the prime minister donned a minimalist beige.
Jenny wore a simple blue dress featuring a halter neckline, billowy sleeves, and an asymmetrical skirt.
Melania, meanwhile, donned a fitting frock which featured a small V-neck, a waist belt, cocoon sleeves, and a sleek pencil skirt that fell right below the knee. She paired her outfit with snakeskin stilettos and styled her hair in loose waves around her shoulders.
President Trump promised the dinner “will be quite something.”
“The first lady has done an incredible job tonight,” Trump said when he sat with Morrison in the Oval Office at mid-morning. “The only thing that can dampen it would be rain and we’re not expecting any rain. But if it rains, we head over to the State (Dining) Room and we’ll be just fine.”
“Thanks, mate,” Morrison said.
Marine band gave performances of the national anthem of both countries as well as a 19-gun salute and inspection of troops in the ceremony.
Celebrity guests included Australian pro-golfer Greg Norman, a friend and sometime golf partner to the president; Lachlan Murdoch, CEO of Fox Corp. and son of Aussie-born media mogul Rupert Murdoch; Fox News’ Trump-backing commentator Lou Dobbs and his wife, Debi Dobbs; and another Fox star, Maria Bartiromo and her husband, Jonathan Steinberg.
Other guests included military families, lawmakers, Cabinet officials. and guests of the Australian Embassy.
According to Yahoo.com: ”The color scheme for the dinner was green and gold, Australia’s national colors, derived from its national flower, the golden wattle. The Rose Garden was filled with American varieties of yellow and white garden roses and wattle flowers in gold woven baskets.’
”The table linens featured ombré shades of yellows and greens and the centerpieces consisted of golden wattles and more than 2,500 California roses in shades of yellow. The tables, illuminated with gold oil lamps, also had golden Champagne grapes to highlight both countries’ rich wine industries.”
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