The invitation list for Thursday’s White House state dinner included celebrities, politicians and allies of the president, while President Joe Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden rolling out the red carpet for Kenyan President William Ruto and the first lady Rachel Ruto.
Former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, actor LeVar Burton, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries were among the distinguished guests invited to the official state dinner – which included former President Barack Obama gave a speech. short, surprising appearance.
“There is a bright light in the White House tonight,” Biden said during his toast to the Kenyan president at the state dinner. “Jill and I are honored to have you here.”
He then joked that “a lot of members of the African diaspora” were at the black-tie event on Thursday, including Obama who “just left.” Biden added that Obama has been “very friendly” and had met Ruto earlier Thursday.
The former president was not included in the first state dinner guest list released by the White House. He attended a reception in the Blue Room before the dinner and stopped by the dining room briefly, according to his office. Obama, whose father was born in Kenya, visited the country as president in 2015 and returned in 2018 after leaving office.
Biden added that the United States has a “strong respect” for Kenya and recalled that former President Jimmy Carter hosted Kenyan leaders for the first time.
He concluded with an Irish toast, saying in part: “May God hold you in the palm of His hand until we meet again – to Kenya, to our guests.”
During his toast, Ruto asked those present to raise a glass to the “continued well-being and longevity” of President Biden and the first lady.
A state visit is one of the highest diplomatic tools a White House can use to honor a top ally, with the carefully planned event arriving as Biden seeks to emphasize the strong alliance between the two countries.
Hollywood also attended Thursday’s dinner — actors Wilmer Valderrama and Sean Penn were among the guests, and Burton told reporters it is his first state dinner.
The dinner would take place in a “transparent pavilion” on the South Lawn, according to the first lady’s office ahead of the event, which would be decorated with more than 1,000 candles. Guests were expected to be served three courses. The first was a chilled tomato soup. The main course for Thursday’s dinner was a “best of both worlds” duo of butter-poached lobster and smoked beef short ribs, according to White House Chef Cris Comerford.
Stewards Goodell and Silver were among the guests invited to Thursday evening’s state dinner. According to a press release at the time, the NFL hosted a talent identification camp in Kenya last year as it looked to expand its “NFL Africa” program. NBA Africa has a “subsidiary” in Kenya that will open in November 2023, according to the league.
Philanthropist Melinda French Gates and former Meta Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg were also among the guests invited to Thursday’s dinner.
Country star Brad Paisley and the Howard Gospel Choir provided the entertainment at the glitzy event. Paisley wore a white cowboy hat as he entered the White House on Thursday evening.
Some members of Congress were also invited to the dinner, including Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Veronica Escobar of Texas, as well as Republican Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas.
Rev. Al Sharpton was invited to the dinner and told reporters that “democracy is going to win in 2024” when asked if the president would win re-election.
CNN’s Bianna Golodryga was invited to Thursday’s dinner, as were Lester Holt of NBC News and Darlene Superville of the Associated Press.
This visit marks the first time a U.S. president has hosted an African leader for a state visit since February 2008, when President George W. Bush hosted the president of Ghana. Thursday’s dinner is the sixth state dinner Biden has hosted since he became president.
This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.
CNN’s Besty Klein and Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.
For more CNN news and newsletters, create an account at CNN.com
