US state visit needs about six months of meticulous planning, says eminent American historian

A US state visit an honour given to the closest friends and allies involves about six months of meticulous planning by the White House and displays the best of American hospitality according to an eminent American historianThe remarks by Matthew Costello vice president and interim director of the David M Rubenstein National Center for White House History came ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modis first state visit to the USPrime Minister Modi is visiting the US from June 2124 at the invitation of US President Biden and First Lady Jill BidenTypically there is an invitation There are about six months of planning leading up to the White House events Matthew told PTI in an interviewThe day of the state visit there will be a state arrival ceremony at the White House typically on the South Lawn The President and the visiting Head of State will exchange remarks he saidTheyll listen to the national anthems of the respective countries review their troops and then theyll go into the White House for conversation and diplomatic exchanges later that night there is a state dinner held in their honour and then they spend the night there as the overnight guest of the President the First Lady at Blair House the presidents official guest house he saidAccording to Matthew the first state visit is recognised as that of King Kalakaua of Hawaii in 1874On state dinners he said a lot of people just think of them as fancy mealsAlso readCyclone Biparjoy Strong winds in Mumbai Western Railway services hitbut theres a lot that goes on that not only shows an acknowledgement and respect for the visiting country their culture and their ideals but also what are our shared ideas and goals and objectives that we can work together as a united bilateral relationship Matthew saidThe earlier state dinners he said were much more simple There wasnt nearly as much pomp and circumstanceAnd what weve seen because the United States has become a global power this invitation to be hosted at the White House is something that is very coveted There are many leaders of other countries that want to go to the White House he saidThats beneficial to them not only in terms of their political capital at home but its beneficial to them on the international stage People start to recognise and acknowledge that this person has quite a bit of leeway They have a good relationship with the President he saidThe state dinners started becoming more and more elaborate probably beginning with the John F Kennedy administrationBefore that they were fairly straightforward there were state dinners obviously throughout Franklin Roosevelts time but the United States was fighting World War II so they had to be mindful of not overspending and not seeming too extravagant he saidBut when we get to the Kennedy administration a big part of this is the Kennedys themselves they used these occasions not only for diplomacy but as an opportunity to demonstrate and display some of the best of American culture he saidIn addition to that the Kennedys hired the first White House executive chef who was FrenchbornAnd so youre starting to see now what we think of today as more of the modern state dinner he saidIt was during the Kennedy administration they decided to use the South Lawn more as the backdrop for a state arrival ceremony because then they could invite people they could include members of the Diplomatic Corps members of Congress and what better backdrop to have for the President of the United States and a visiting head of state than to have the south side of the White House he saidThe State Dining Room where most of the state dinners have been held is not a big one he saidTypically it holds anywhere from about 120 to 140 people But as people have probably noticed recent state dinners have many more people The Bidens recently had a state dinner that had more than 300 peopleThe last state visit was hosted by Biden for South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on April 26What weve seen I would say in the last 20 years or so is this shift away from doing the more traditional state dinners inside the White House to now were seeing more of the White House grounds being used as the outdoor venue for state dinners he saidFormer president Barack Obama did this quite a bitPresident Donald Trump had one of his state dinners in the Rose Garden And the Bidens have done this as well putting up a tent on the South lawn so that you can invite 300 to 400 people to be part of a state dinner he saidThe other thing that weve noticed thats been a difference since especially with Reagan George W Bush and Bill Clinton is that state dinners are not happening with the same frequency as they were he saidRonald Reagan holds the record for the most state dinners He held upwards of 59 state dinners in his two administrationsAnd then you start to see them slow down with Bush and Clinton And now its become more typical to see Presidents have anywhere from maybe five to ten depending on how many terms they serve in office he saidThose earlier presidents were holding dozens of state dinners mainly because state dinner was much more critical to Cold War diplomacy Matthew saidUnder the Biden administration only two world leaders French President Emmanuel Macron and South Korean President Yoon have been hosted for a state visit so farThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever