President Donald Trump’s state dinner with Chinese President Xi Jinping continues a time-honored tradition, one with its fair share of memorable moments.
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dinner → continue → moments
State dinners allow diplomacy to take place in a more informal environment, one that likewise opens the door for some more unguarded moments.
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that → allow → moments
1. George HW Bush throws up on Japanese prime minister
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Bush → throw → minister
By far the most memorable entry, the Jan. 8, 1992, state dinner hosted by Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa at his residence in Tokyo became a global cultural phenomenon.
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dinner → host → Tokyo
Bush was nearing the end of a 12-day trip through Asia, a long-haul journey involving his moving through 16 time zones in 10 days.
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Bush → near → days
By the time he landed in Japan, he began complaining to his doctor that he felt unwell, especially after playing a tennis match against the emperor and crown prince.
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he → land → emperor
Against the advice of his doctor, he decided to go through with the state dinner.
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he → decide → dinner
The state dinner, attended by 135 diplomats, was uneventful until around 8:20 p.m., when the president suddenly turned pale, lurched forward, and vomited on Miyazawa’s lap before fainting.
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president → attend → lap
As the Secret Service scrambled to respond, first lady Barbara Bush tried to cover his face with a napkin to shield him from the cameras.
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Bush → scramble → cameras
Bush came to shortly after, even gathering the strength to joke to his physician, saying, “Roll me under the table until the dinner’s over.”
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dinner → come → table
He was able to get up on his own volition, apologize, and leave the dinner.
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He → get → dinner
His wife gave remarks in his place.
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wife → give → place
Doctors said the president suffered from a case of gastroenteritis and that the event was unrelated to any previous health problems.
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event → say → problems
He was in good enough shape to give a press conference the following day with Emperor Akihito.
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He → give → Akihito
Japanese media hesitated to report on the incident out of respect for Bush, but the floodgates opened after video of the incident leaked to U.S. media.
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video → hesitate → media
U.S. comedians unleashed on the president, culminating in a memorable Saturday Night Live sketch filmed in the style of a John F. Kennedy assassination mockumentary, with comedian Dana Carvey.
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comedians → unleash → Carvey
The incident even went so far as to enter Bush into the Japanese language — the term Bushu-suru, roughly, “do the Bush thing,” became a popular joke staple in Japanese slang.
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term → go → slang
The moment fared poorly for Bush in the elections later that year, feeding into the image that he was older and in poor health, contrasting heavily with the younger, virile Bill Clinton.
2.
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he → fare → Clinton
Silvio Berlusconi breaks lectern
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Berlusconi → break → lectern
On Oct. 13, 2008, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi dined with President George W. Bush shortly after returning to the premiership, which he previously held from June 2001 to May 2006.
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he → din → May
U.S.-Italian relations had flourished with the two in power, buoyed by their notably close personal friendship.
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relations → flourish → friendship
Berlusconi commemorated their friendship in a speech, which he topped off with the warm remark, “George, we’ll remain friends forever.”
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we → commemorate → remark
He then went in for a hug to cement their friendship.
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He → go → friendship
Instead, he tripped over the microphone cord, grabbing onto the podium to save himself from an embarrassing fall.
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he → trip → fall
The lectern ended up sacrificing itself for Berlusconi’s balance, breaking into pieces and mostly tumbling to the ground.
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lectern → end → ground
In a Looney Tunes-esque moment, Berlusconi was left holding the top of the lectern, without a base.
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Berlusconi → leave → base
Without missing a beat, the Italian prime minister kept speaking as usual, holding the top of the lectern in its usual place while speaking through the still-attached microphone.
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minister → miss → microphone
“This is what too much love can do,” he joked, according to a recounting by Time magazine.
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he → do → magazine
President Barack Obama’s 2009 White House dinner hosting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh became the subject of one of the greatest reality TV scandals of all time, when Michaele and Tareq Salahi, cast members for The Real Housewives of D.C., managed to attend the event.
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Michaele → host → event
Michaele Salahi, the wife of a wealthy vintner and a social climber whose major biographical details are disputed, was being filmed as a cast member for the Washington installment of Bravo’s Real Housewives franchise.
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details → dispute → franchise
On Nov. 24, 2009, she and her husband allegedly told Bravo that they had been invited to the dinner and were likewise filmed preparing, then being waved through by someone with a clipboard after being briefly questioned.
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they → tell → clipboard
Michaele Salahi, who stuck out with an elaborate gold-embroidered Indian-style dress at an event when most wore black or navy blue, even claimed to the cameras that she consulted with White House social secretary Desiree Rogers, who said the dress was “a great idea.”
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dress → stick → Rogers
The two were photographed meeting with Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and chief of staff Rahm Emanuel.
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two → photograph → staff
The White House only realized the error when the couple posted their photos of the event to Facebook.
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couple → realize → Facebook
The security breach led to a firestorm of bipartisan outrage, triggering several investigations, including one from Congress.
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breach → lead → Congress
The consensus on how the couple was able to breach one of the most secure places on the planet was pinned on human error.
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couple → breach → error
A Secret Service agent, persuaded by their insistence and manner, and not wanting to hold up the line, waved the two through, assuming their identities would be checked and confirmed at the next checkpoint.
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identities → persuade → checkpoint
The next agent apparently made the same assumption in reverse.
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agent → make → reverse
The Salahis continue to insist they were invited by the White House but have refused to produce evidence of the invitation.
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they → continue → invitation
They refused to testify under oath to Congress.
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They → refuse → Congress
…and 25 more, not listed.
The Aporia
