Melania Trump has arrived at the Governor’s Dinner hand in hand with the president amid a turbulent week for the White House.
The first lady entered the glitzy dinner donning shimmering silver pants and a black tie-front top, escorted by President Donald Trump in a classic tuxedo.
Despite the glitz and glamour, the night was marred by controversy.
Dozens of Democrats had threatened to boycott Saturday’s dinner if members of their party were blocked from Friday’s National Governors Association gathering.
Amid feuds with Maryland Governor Wes Moore and Colorado Governor Jared Polis, Trump proudly rescinded their invitations only to extend them again.
Despite Moore’s eventual attendance, governors, including Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, announced that they would not be in attendance Saturday night.
‘Trump has made this whole thing a farce,’ she said.
Others have reportedly opted to attend an alternative event.
The president addressed guests who did not choose to boycott over disputes with Trump.
He said the room was full of ‘many, many friends and very competent people.’
‘We’ve transformed stagnation into growth, weakness into strength and chaos into order, liberty and justice,’ he said.
Trump claimed that in just one year, his administration had tackled inflation and crime and garnered worldwide respect.
The president then introduced Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who prayed over the meal.
‘We have a great leader, a great military leader named Pete Hegseth and he is going to say grace,’ said Trump.
‘He is a man who turned out to be absolutely fantastic at what he does and you know what he does…
‘He’s turned out to be an incredible inspiration to the men and women in our military.’
Hegseth prayed for the president’s ‘safety’ and ‘wisdom’ to kick off the glamorous evening.
‘We pray for our president, President Trump. Give him safety, give him wisdom.
‘Lord, we pray for our vice president, our first lady, our second lady, the cabinet members here, all the governors assembled here as well, our civil magistrates,’ he said.
‘I would be remiss if I did not pray for our great troops, our men and women all around the globe, defending our great nation as they have for 250 years. Lord God watch over them and protect them.’
Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha Vance, arrived at the dinner in black.
Vance addressed guests, admitting he ‘didn’t have anything prepared.’
‘To the governors here, we admire your courage, we admire your leadership and to the president of the United States, we admire you for all the great things you’re doing for our country,’ he said.
The dinner comes after the president endured a major blow from the Supreme Court this week when it struck down his sweeping tariff policy on Friday.
Justices were divided six to three on the issue, ruling that his policy was not allowed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Trump appointees Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch were among those who voted against him.
In response, Trump called the justices who voted against him ‘very unpatriotic’ and publicly fired back on Truth Social.
‘What happened today with the two United States Supreme Court Justices that I appointed against great opposition, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, whether people like it or not, never seems to happen with Democrats,’ he wrote.
‘They vote against the Republicans, and never against themselves, almost every single time, no matter how good a case we have.’
