Trump Breaks Century-Old Tradition, Hosts No State Dinners, Instead Makes 100+ Visits To Own Properties

The Associated Press reports:

President Donald Trump couldn’t stop talking about the red carpets, military parades and fancy dinners that were lavished upon him during state visits on his recent tour of Asia. “Magnificent,” he declared at one point on the trip. But Trump has yet to reciprocate, making him the first president in almost a century to close his first year in office without welcoming a visiting counterpart to the U.S. with similar trappings.

Such visits are an important diplomatic tool that includes a showy arrival ceremony and an elaborate dinner at the White House. A state visit typically is offered as a sign of friendship and to showcase strategic ties between countries that are important to each other, said Anita McBride, a veteran of three Republican administrations who last served as chief of staff to first lady Laura Bush.