As celebrities walked the red carpet at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles Sunday evening, President Trump hosted his own high-profile event at the White House.
Amid the National Governors Association (NGA) winter meeting, Trump invited 46 state leaders to the White House for the Governors Ball.
Vice President Pence and his wife joined the president and first lady Melania Trump in the Palm Room, according to the pool report.
{mosads}The tables were adorned with white candles and white floral centerpieces, and Trump complimented his wife “for having done a really beautiful job,” before launching into remarks.
“I can say that after four weeks, it’s been a lot of fun,” he said. “We’ve accomplished almost everything we set out to accomplish. The borders are stricter. … There are some big problems in the world, you know that very well. But we’re very happy with the way things are working,” Trump said.
“We’ve made a lot of promises over the last two years, and many of those promises already are kept. So we’re very honored by that.”
Trump recognized the governors in attendance, drawing laughs when he said, “Such an easy job you have.”
He said he looked forward to meeting with governors Monday and hinted that “perhaps healthcare will come up.”
“I think you’re going to see something very, very special,” on an ObamaCare repeal-and-replacement plan.
Trump then invited Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), whom he called “a friend of mine,” to make remarks as the NGA chairman.
McAuliffe joked that he’d take partial credit for “largest crowd ever” at an NGA White House dinner.
“In the spirit of bipartisanship, sir, we will both take credit.”
McAuliffe said, “We have a common goal: We are the greatest nation in the globe, and I want to toast you, Mr. President, and to say we want to work with you to build on those ideals.”