Dinner is Served

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at a State Dinner

Reporters with notebooks and photographers with cameras gathering around Max Baucus and Melodee Hanes (© Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post/Getty Images)

Montana Senator Max Baucus and his wife, Melodee Hanes, stop to talk with reporters as they arrive at a state dinner honoring South Korea October 13, 2011. (© Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post/Getty Images)

Montana Senator Max Baucus and his wife, Melodee Hanes, stop to talk with reporters as they arrive at a state dinner honoring South Korea October 13, 2011. (© Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post/Getty Images)

The press

Reporters leaning over set table (© Andrew Harnik/AP)

On November 30, 2022, reporters take notes and photos of a set table during a media preview for the state dinner hosted by the Bidens for French President Emmanuel Macron. (© Andrew Harnik/AP)

On November 30, 2022, reporters take notes and photos of a set table during a media preview for the state dinner hosted by the Bidens for French President Emmanuel Macron. (© Andrew Harnik/AP)

Don’t come hungry. You won’t be sitting down for dinner, yet you will dress in formalwear. A former Reuters correspondent remembers changing in the bathroom off the White House briefing room into a gown and white gloves bought by her employer. She soon ditched the gloves, which interfered with note-taking, and joined other reporters and photographers recording the arrival of invitees. She says the most newsworthy quotes, however, came from the toasts given by the president and the guest of honor at the dinner’s start. After the toasts, members of the press were escorted out, as is typical, so that the dinner can be private.

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