Donald Trump’s first state dinner for French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte included 120 guests, a cream and gold color scheme, rack of spring lamb for the main course and white floral centerpieces of sweet peas and white lilacs.
What it didn’t have is Hollywood glamour.
Celebrities have long been a staple of Washington state dinners. But unlike, say, the Obama years, which featured the likes of Beyoncé, Steven Spielberg and James Taylor, this year’s event was low on star wattage, with the Washington National Opera serving as the featured entertainment.
Except for Melania Trump’s broad-brimmed white hat earlier in the day — which drew immediate comparisons to “Scandal’s” Olivia Pope — perhaps the closest Hollywood connection at the state dinner was movie-financier-turned-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.