President Trump presented Chinese leader Xi Jinping with a sculpture of a bald eagle and invited him to tour the White House ballroom “construction site” during his toast at the state dinner Thursday night.
“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 gift was made “by an extraordinary American artist” and “designed in personal collaboration with Melania and myself.”
Just before he revealed his gift to Xi, the president invited his dinner guests to walk through the massive new White House ballroom that is still 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 continued, “and we’ll do that maybe after we’re finished with the entertainment tonight.
“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.”
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