During a state dinner Thursday night, President Trump gave Chinese President Xi Jinping a bald eagle sculpture and invited him and other guests to tour the White House’s ballroom construction site.
“The bald eagle is the national symbol of the United States and an embodiment of the free and soaring spirit of America,” Trump said. “And we hope it will find a nice place, a wonderful place, in Beijing.”
Trump said the sculpture was created by “an extraordinary American artist” and designed in close collaboration with first lady Melania Trump and himself.
Before unveiling the gift for Xi, the president extended a special invitation to dinner guests, encouraging them to view the massive new White House ballroom, which remains under construction.
“As a special treat in honor of President Xi and Madame Peng, I’d like to invite everyone in the room to visit through that beautiful curtain in the back door,” Trump said. “It’s all lit up and it looks beautiful.”
“You’ll be the first people to step foot on that,” the president added, suggesting the tour could take place after the evening’s entertainment concluded.
“Anybody who wants to walk into a construction site that’s nice and clean and sparkling, it’s our honor to have you do so.”
