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You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / (Classy) Foreign Affairs Open Thread: Last Night’s State Dinner

(Classy) Foreign Affairs Open Thread: Last Night’s State Dinner

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Per the local paper, the Washington Post:

… [Prime Minister] Albanese came with a plan: to “encourage President Biden to continue to show that the U.S. can do multiple things at once,” Justin Bassi, the executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said earlier this week. It is possible, he added, to support Ukraine and attempt to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East “but not do those at the expense of the Indo-Pacific.”

In part, that means never underestimating Australia’s counterbalance to China’s influences in the Pacific region. It means honoring the commitment to outfit Australia with nuclear-powered submarines, as the United States promised in March.

Biden covered all this during his toast before dinner, saying: “A great deal of the history of our world will be written in the Indo-Pacific in the coming years. Australia and the United States must write that story together. We must continue to advance freedom, security and prosperity for all.”

But first, he declared the purpose of the evening — “To celebrate the historic bonds between our two nations that’s been going on for 72 years now” — and read from an old manual given to U.S. troops headed to Australia: “You’ll find the Australians haven’t much respect for stuffed shirts, their own or anyone else’s.”…

Then they sat down to dinner at around 9:10 p.m., nearly four hours after the more than 300 guests, including Israeli American violinist Itzhak Perlman, actor John Leguizamo and the U.S. ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy began arriving. The guest list was notably light on Australian celebrities, save for rapper the Kid Laroi. Not even a lesser Hemsworth brother…

After drinks on the state floor, guests climbed aboard trolleys headed for a massive tent on the South Lawn. They simply couldn’t all fit inside the State Dining Room — for decades, the traditional scene of state dinners — which accommodates about 130….

You may think you are done with history…

… but history is not done with you…

Reader Interactions

90Comments

  2. 2.

    SpaceUnit

    Looks like a very stately and cordial affair.  Nice to have decorum restored to the White House and a president who isn’t an embarrassment.

  4. 4.

    Mai Naem mobile

    Did the NY Times mention that Biden narrowly avoided disaster by not inviting Mel Gibson?

  13. 13.

    SpaceUnit

    Did trump hold any such dinners?  I honestly don’t remember.

    But I can’t imagine any self-respecting head of state wanted to join that fat orange slob for a night of hamberders, boasts and insults.  Maybe they’d do it for the free classified intel.

  14. 14.

    Scout211

    @WaterGirl:I had sort of figured that’s why President Biden wore a suit rather than a tux.

    I think he wore a regular tie with a tux. I can see a satin material on the lapels.  I could be wrong, though.

    ETA:  look closely at the Chris D Jackson X photo.

  15. 15.

    sab

    Jill Biden is the same age as my elderly (3 years older than me)  husband and she looks fabulous.

    Husband not so much, but he smoked for decades. Bad move for your skin  even if it doesn’t kill you outright. He quit 20 years ago, but carcinogens and lungs? Who knows? I guess his heart is okay. His skin looks boiled.

  16. 16.

    eclare

    @SpaceUnit:

    All I remember is TFG wearing that horribly fitted tux to a state dinner at Buckingham Palace and scowling. The queen was not amused, and her face showed it.

    She had a big grin for the Obama state dinner.

  17. 17.

    Gin & Tonic

    @WaterGirl: In a State Dinner context, a business suit is “casual” and is completely inappropriate. A “tuxedo” (black tie) is considered semi-formal. The only acceptable dress for a State Dinner is white tie.

    Yes, this is a hill for me to die on.

  18. 18.

    Raven

    Let’s go crash that party down
    In Normaltown tonight
    Then we’ll go skinny-dippin’
    In the moonlight
    We’re wild girls walkin’ down the street
    Wild girls and boys going out for a big time

    Anyway we can
    We’re gonna find something
    We’ll dance in the garden
    In torn sheets in the rain

  20. 20.

    Dan B

    I noticed a Syrah from Washington state on the menu.  When I first moved to Seattle there was no fine wine and now it’s over a thousand wineries.  And it wasn’t until the 80’s that people thought that good red wines were possible.

  21. 21.

    geg6

    Jill and Kamala look fabulous.  As do the men.  But not quite as much.

    Leguizamo had a really good doc series about Hispanic communities in America’s great cities a few months ago on MSNBC.  I haven’t checked but it may be available for streaming.  Gave some great insight into the different cultures that you just can’t get here in the northern edge of Appalachia.

  25. 25.

    eclare

    @Gin & Tonic:

    I agree with you, but I think the only state dinner that is still white tie is Buckingham Palace.

    I thought the neckties were inappropriate.

  26. 26.

    eclare

    @SpaceUnit:

    Plus, and yes I am repeating myself, get a fucking tailor!

    You are going to a dinner with people who employ teams to dress them properly, fuck I read somewhere that King Charles has his shoelaces ironed.  Dress the part!

  27. 27.

    Anne Laurie

    @WaterGirl: I dunno about the cape. I saw that and though “oh no, not a cape!”

    Maybe that was the most ‘subdued’ formal outfit VP Harris had on hand?  IIRC, she usually takes advantage of her style to wear vivid colors at formal events (and elsewhere, but sure, she’s got plenty of dark ‘business pantsuits’ — boooring!)

  28. 28.

    Alison Rose

    Personally, I think Kamala is rocking the cape, because it doesn’t really look like a cape but just like part of the gown. Simple and elegant but also a showstopper.

  29. 29.

    Scout211

    @eclare: I thought the neckties were inappropriate.

    Actually, neckties (especially slim, satin ones) are now acceptable to wear with tuxes.  It’s not unusual for weddings and formal events now. It’s a new modern thing.  I kind of like it.

  31. 31.

    Gin & Tonic

    @eclare: The only images I can find of GWB or BHO wearing white tie are at dinners with Queen Elizabeth, and I’m not going to do an image search involving TFG.

    I disapprove of this trend.

  32. 32.

    WaterGirl

    @Raven: oh, man. I approved your comment and then took out a bunch of the extraneous code and junk that I’m sure you didn’t intend to include.

    And now you seem to have delete it all. :-(

  34. 34.

    The Thin Black Duke

    @Raven: Saw the B52s twice at Toad’s Place in New Haven, CT. They were a ferocious rock ‘n’ roll band.

  35. 35.

    SpaceUnit

    I’m glad they made the decision to not perform Love Shack.

     

    Planet Claire would have been okay though.

  37. 37.

    WaterGirl

    @Anne Laurie: I’m not judging Kamala for wearing a cape.  It’s more like when you got food poisoning from eating fish or lasagna (I have gotten food poisoning from both) and then even years later someone offers you that food, and you’re like, “nope”.

    It took me years to eat lasagna again, and I’ve never gotten over the fish.

    For Raven:  I LOVED the fish sandwiches at the Deluxe on Fridays, with the raw onions and the pickles, but after I got so sick, I couldn’t bring myself to eat one again.  The Deluxe was a tradition – those were the days!

  38. 38.

    eclare

    @HumboldtBlue:

    Yep, I remember the photo of Obama meeting Prince George in his robe.  The Obamas got on well with the Windsors.

    It was a “special relationship.”

  43. 43.

    Ohio Mom

    When I saw the VP in her cape, I thought immediately of Melania, who you will recall, wore both capes and jackets slung over her shoulders fairly frequently.

    No question about who wears it better, and who has the most genuinely warm and gracious smile (well, maybe not a fair comparison, did Melania ever smile?).

  45. 45.

    Another Scott

    @Gin & Tonic: Interesting.

    White tie and tails and pocket watches with chains and starched collars and all the rest, is ridiculous in the 21st century, IMHO.  Might as well demand men wear powdered wigs, also too.

    ;-)

    I spent a few minutes looking through images on Google.  There does not seem to be a recent picture of Biden in a white bow tie.  W, Obama, TIFG all did the white tie thing at least once.

    Clothes should be comfortable, flattering, and fun.

    I think people in power have a responsibility to help do away with ridiculous cultural norms, especially ones that lead to disfigured bodies (high heels), especially ones copied from “the mother country”.

    But, to each their own.  Everyone wearing Mao suits all the time wouldn’t be too good.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  53. 53.

    kalakal

    @eclare: I remember that, he looked like he’d been poured into that jacket and they forgot to say “when” *

    * thanks to P. G. Wodehouse

  55. 55.

    Yarrow

    @Gin & Tonic:  This BBC article has pictures of a lot of state dinners. JFK is in white tie. Starting with Reagan all the presidents are wearing black tie.

    I’ve seen actors in the red carpet for things like the Oscars wearing a tux with the long tie. I thought that was a thing. It’s not a business suit. It’s a tux.

  56. 56.

    kalakal

    @SpaceUnit:

    Queen Elizabeth looked distinctly put out.

    Which was quite the achievement by TFG. She met damn near anybody who was anybody, and met a ridiculous number of leaders at state dinners, some she was obviously delighted to meet such as Obama, others were bloodstained monsters such as Sukarno and Ceausescu and for them there was polite neutrality. She was probably the most experienced diplomatic host in history and managed to control her feelings throughout.  Uniquely with TFG her disgust showed

  58. 58.

    like a metaphor

    I really want to try the popped sorghum with herb vinagrette.  Also the candied pumpkin seeds.

    Saw the B-52s on the back porch of city hall, 20 years ago at SF Pride.  I was that boy hanging upside down from the sycamore tree

    here is 52 girls: youtube.com/watch?v=UPZfrKCWXn8

  62. 62.

    TheMightyTrowel

    @Gin & Tonic: ​
      Hear me out: this is a concession for the Australians who don’t know how to dress.

    Further data points: ill-fitting suits are a kind of point of pride among wealthy australian men (including the pollies) because dressing too nicely in things that fit is girly.

    Other data points: our national dress (masc) is thongs and a budgie smuggler (transl: flip flops and a speedo)

  66. 66.

    Suzanne

    @eclare: That cape is stunning on MVP! A few months ago when we were snarking on Casey DeSantis for wearing that stupid green cape, I remember thinking that she could have done a cape so much better! Then Kamala did it!

    One good thing: DeSantis is DeAfterthought these days.

  68. 68.

    prostratedragon

    @Scout211:  That’s a tux. Chasten Buttigieg and Doug Emhoff dressed similarly. Cravats with tux have been a thing in recent years.

  71. 71.

    surfk9

    Ms Surfk9 and I are having curried pear and  Butternut squash soup and buttermilk biscuits for dinner. I Ieel somehow presidential

  78. 78.

    Suzanne

    @eclare: Whenever I think about right-wing evangelicals, I think of Two Corinthians, and what hypocritical, lying pieces of shit they are.

  81. 81.

    prostratedragon

    Whenever I hear of Two Corinthians I think of some kind of cocktail, or maybe a cheap cigar.

  90. 90.

    Roberto el oso

    The one time I saw the B-52s was when they were the openers for the Talking Heads on the ‘Fear of Music’ tour. Decent crowd but not enough to fill the Music Hall in Houston (torn down in 1998). The 52s invited the audience to come down to be closer to the stage and the members of the Talking Heads joined the audience as well, and there was obviously a lot of affection between the bands, which was pretty neat. I was surprised at how much lead guitar David Byrne played, sometimes trading off solos with Jerry Harrison. Seems like a million years ago.

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