Yes, Barack Obama was there.
State dinners are best known as embraces for allies abroad — and Thursday’s guest of honor was Kenyan — but Biden’s sixth state dinner of his term was designed to further cement ties with allies at home, including President Barack Obama, whose father is Kenyan, as the president faces a long and arduous race to November.
Of course, the 500-person event, held on the South Lawn of the White House on a muggy May evening, was attended by dozens of Kenyan dignitaries, including Kenyan President William Ruto, his wife Rachel, and their three daughters, as well as Kenyan billionaires such as James Mwangi, chief executive officer of the global banking conglomerate Equity Group Holdings Limited.
“We have a deep respect for the history that binds us,” Biden told guests in a toast. He quoted President Jimmy Carter’s speech at a state dinner in Kenya in 1980. “Neighbors don’t share borders, they share beliefs.”
But the evening’s event was just as notable for its guest list, as it was for its references to Biden’s current political obstacles. While former President Obama wasn’t on the original guest list released by the White House and left before Biden’s speech, the list included people Biden hopes to draw on further in the coming months. The lineup included elected officials from several battleground states, influential black political activists and leading philanthropists like Melinda French Gates.
The president and first lady Jill Biden chose a mix of guests, including supporters of Biden’s reelection campaign, some of Biden’s family, his granddaughters, and his eldest son, Hunter, who is scheduled to go on trial next month on firearms charges. (Hunter Biden’s wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, walked the red carpet alone.) Hollywood stars were few and far between, but one notable attendee was actor Sean Penn, who was photographed by gossip site TMZ earlier this month spending time in California with Hunter Biden, who is making a documentary about his life.
And there was a long list of administration members, including Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, whose Justice Department charged Mr. Biden with tax evasion in December. The Bidens created a similarly tense guest list when Hunter Biden attended a state dinner honoring India almost a year ago.
In another sense, the dinner seemed designed to provide a night’s respite — if you can call it that — for several of Biden’s most busy administration officials. Among the guests were White House chief of staff Jeff Zients, the first lady’s communications director, Elizabeth Alexander, and Carlos Elizondo, the White House social secretary who has helped plan the past six state dinners.
Some attendees, like veteran political strategist Donna Brazile, tried to avoid talk of the 2024 election, but reality crept into the murky event.
LeVar Burton, a former Star Trek officer on the USS Enterprise and former host of the PBS literacy program Reading Rainbow, was asked by reporters to sum up the political situation in one word.
“Just one thing? Can I swear to you?” asked national treasure Burton. “I can say for sure that it’s full of possibilities. Those are three words.”
All three words could apply to Mr. Biden’s campaign, where recent polls show him trailing rival, former President Donald J. Trump, in several battleground states from which several representatives attended. The mayors of Charlotte, Phoenix, Milwaukee, Augusta and Atlanta all traveled to Washington and dined on chilled heritage-variety tomato soup and fruitwood-smoked beef short ribs a few tables away from the president.
Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, arrived in Japan for their second state dinner this spring. The last one, for Japan, was held just over a month ago. Biden is relying on the support, advice and fundraising skills of Clinton and Obama; an event the three hosted in New York in March raised $25 million.
Also making the cut was Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Georgia, as well as Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, a longtime friend and confidant of the president.
(Kuhn recently ate cooked muskrat in Delaware at an event aimed at strengthening ties with his home state. But on Thursday his plate included butter-poached lobster, baby kale with sweet-corn puree and a white chocolate basket for dessert.)
The lone Republican, Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, is an ally of House Speaker Mike Johnson and is believed to have played a key role in pushing Johnson to support the previous round of military aid to Ukraine.
The evening’s musical performer, Brad Paisley, also holds friend status. He and his wife, Kimberly Williams Paisley, have performed with the first lady at several campaign events since Biden was elected. Paisley was the musical guest at the White House Governors’ Dinner in February 2023, where he was scheduled to perform with the Howard Gospel Choir.
“I’m excited to see what kind of crowd we get,” Paisley told reporters cheerfully, adding that he plans to kick off the celebrations with “American Saturday Night,” a hopeful tune for a group that doesn’t often celebrate the weekend.
Attendees briefly spoke at several occasions about investing in African economies and programs. National Basketball Association Commissioner Adam Silver said he supports developing sports programs in Africa and said the White House should rebuild basketball courts. (National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell was pressed by reporters.)
When asked what it is about Africa that has so influenced her work, author Barbara Kingsolver, who has drawn inspiration from the African continent in a number of her novels, gives a measured response.
“Everything,” the Pulitzer Prize winner said, going inside.
