dexinwin WASHINGTON, Sept. 25— U.S. President Donald Trump briefly abandoned his prepared remarks during a state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday night, telling guests that he “had to do it” and going off script to talk about the new ballroom under construction at the White House.
The unscripted moment came as Trump was delivering a toast during the lavish dinner hosted for Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, on September 24. As guests laughed, Trump shifted from his prepared remarks to an impromptu invitation to see the construction site behind a curtain at the back of the room.
“If I Could Go Off Script”
Trump had been speaking about U.S.-China relations when he suddenly changed direction.
“If I could go off script just for a second, I just want to say I had to do it,” Trump said, according to the reported transcript of his remarks.
The comment prompted laughter from people attending the dinner.
Trump then invited guests to look behind a curtain at the back of the East Room, where construction work on a new White House ballroom is taking place.
“I’d like to invite everyone in the room to visit through that beautiful curtain in the back,” he said, describing the construction area as brightly lit and nearly ready for visitors.
Trump Talks Up the New Ballroom
Trump said the ballroom project was about a year away from completion and suggested that guests would be impressed by what they saw.
He joked that after the dinner and entertainment, guests could visit the construction site and become among the first people to enter it.
“Anybody wants to walk into a construction site that’s nice and sparkling, it’s our honor to have you do so,” Trump said.
The president has referred to the planned facility as the “Great Hall of the United States.” He has also compared its scale with the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, where he attended a state dinner during his visit to China earlier this year.
A More Relaxed Moment at a Formal Dinner
The brief departure from the prepared remarks stood out because the state dinner was one of the most formal events of Xi’s Washington visit.
The dinner was held in the White House East Room, with Trump and First Lady Melania Trump hosting Xi and Peng.
The guest list included senior U.S. officials as well as prominent figures from the technology and business worlds, including Elon Musk, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Apple Chairman Tim Cook and other business leaders.
The dinner itself featured an elaborate three-course menu, including yellow squash velouté, sesame-crusted sea bass and a dessert featuring vanilla crémeux and White House honey ice cream.
The room was decorated primarily in red and gold, while Peng wore a red gown and Trump appeared in a tuxedo.
Trump Also Presented Xi With an Eagle Statue
The ballroom was not the only personal touch Trump highlighted during the evening.
Trump presented Xi with a large bald eagle sculpture, saying the artwork had been designed with his and Melania Trump’s personal involvement.
He described the eagle as a symbol associated with the United States and said he hoped the piece could eventually be displayed in Beijing.
The gift presentation added another informal element to an evening otherwise centered on diplomatic protocol.
Trump Praises the Relationship With Xi
Before going off script, Trump used his toast to emphasize the relationship between himself and Xi.
“President Xi and I both understand we represent different systems, but the ties between our people endure, and we’ve never gotten along better,” Trump said.
He added that the two countries could continue working toward a relationship aimed at promoting prosperity and security for future generations.
Xi, in his own toast, also referred to the different systems represented by China and the United States. He said the two countries' respective goals could be mutually reinforcing while emphasizing the importance of their relationship.
From Prepared Diplomacy to an Impromptu Invitation
The “off script” moment offered a glimpse of the less formal side of the state dinner.
Rather than continuing with prepared remarks, Trump turned his attention to a major White House construction project and invited his guests to see it for themselves.
The exchange was brief, but it became one of the more memorable moments of the evening, illustrating how a highly formal diplomatic event can also include spontaneous remarks and personal touches.
As the dinner continued, Trump returned to the formal toast, while the ballroom construction remained one of the unexpected subjects he chose to highlight during the evening.
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