President Biden hosted Bill and Hillary Clinton alongside billionaire Big Tech titans Wednesday night at the White House for a state dinner in honor of visiting Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
The Clintons and actor Robert De Niro joined the head table in the White House East Room, where more than 200 guests dined on house-cured salmon and dry-aged rib-eye steak.
Billionaire Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos and Apple CEO Tim Cook sat at tables nearby.
JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who was spotted with wine glass in hand ahead of Biden and Kishida giving introductory toasts, were also toward the center of the room.
“We both remember the choices that were made to forge a friendship,” Biden, 81, said during his toast. “We both remember the hard work, what it has done to find healing.”
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
AFP via Getty Images
Photo by DREW ANGERER/AFP via Getty Images
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
“Tonight,” the president continued, “We pledge to keep going.”
Kishida, 66, invoked “Star Trek” in his toast, pledging that the Japanese-US relationship would “boldly go where no one had gone before.”
Paul Simon, 82, provided the evening’s entertainment in the State Dining Room — beginning shortly after 10 p.m. with the songs “Graceland” and then “Slip Slidin’ Away.”
First granddaughter Naomi Biden swayed to the music in her second-row seat — next to Bezos and just behind Vice President Kamala Harris — wearing a loose-fitting pink cherry blossom dress.
The former Simon & Garfunkel singer is reputed to be a favorite of first lady Jill Biden’s.
Others attending the lavish celebration included figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, World Bank President Ajay Banga and United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain.
Unlike past state dinners, scandal-plagued first son Hunter Biden did not make an appearance, though other members of the first family were on the list, including first daughter Ashley Biden and Hunter’s daughters Finnegan and Naomi, as well as Naomi’s husband Peter Neal.
The guest list included First Lady Jill Biden’s top aide Anthony Bernal, whom former colleagues accused last month of sexual harassment and bullying.
Bernal, who is widely regarded as one of the most powerful officials in the Biden White House due to his closeness to the first family, approached a reporter for The Post during the night’s festivities and introduced himself.
He did not respond to a question about whether it was appropriate for him to be present considering the allegations against him — as a press officer swooped in to end the exchange.
Source: https://nypost.com/2024/04/10/us-news/biden-hosting-clintons-big-tech-bigwigs-at-state-dinner-for-japans-pm-fumio-kishida/