Ready for a fun but dumb (but fun) story?
One of my favorite annual bits of ridiculousness just dropped
Let us talk now of presidential gift-giving. And specifically, let us consider the annual (or nearly annual) report from the State Department’s Office of Protocol listing presents from foreign officials to people in the executive branch, from President Biden on down.
First things first: They can’t keep these gifts for personal use unless they buy them at fair market value.
Second things second: At the end of a president’s term, once their presidential “library” is completed, the gifts will live there. Scroll down here to see a saddle President George W. Bush received from the leader of Kazakhstan.
Third things third: The reason for accepting the gifts is always the same. “Non-acceptance would cause embarrassment to donor and U.S. Government.”
It may help with diplomacy — presidents are people, too, and can forge bonds with their fellow world leaders. It can maybe lend itself to interpretation — in 2016, President Obama got nothing from Russian President Vladimir Putin. In 2004, with the post-invasion reality of Iraq sinking in, the Sultan of Brunei gave George W. Bush a copy of the “Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook.” There are almost always weapons. Swords, daggers, a sniper rifle have been on past lists.
It’s regularly a bizarre enterprise. In April 2016, Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s gifts to Obama included an 18-by-14-inch framed oil painting of a woman looking at a mushroom cloud, part of a package valued at $3,615.82.
Among the most baffling: In 2014, Zanzibari President Ali Mohamed Shein gave Obama 20 baseball caps with the American leader’s face on them.
Sorry for the long throat-clearing here. I’m writing about this today because it’s always been one of my favorite curious little stories from inside the Beltway and because — ta-daaa — the State Department just published the list of foreign gifts for calendar year 2022. You can read it yourself here.
A few take-aways:
Nothing from Putin. Sad!
Nothing from Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
The Saudis remain among the most reliable givers of lavish gifts. In July 2022, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman gave Biden a bundle of presents valued at $34,860. (The bundle included “cotton washcloths.”)
Just because the president doesn’t drink alcohol hasn’t stopped foreign officials from giving him bottles of booze. French President Emmanuel Macron provided a Bottle of Armagnac 1942 Reserve Joseph in November 2022 (probably during Macron’s state visit).
So what happened to the Armagnac? The State Department notation is the same for every bottle of alcohol: “Perishable items retained for Official Use and/or disposed of pursuant to USSS policies.” USSS = Secret Service.
OK, not every bottle. Here’s a cryptic little note attached to an unnamed foreign official’s gift of unknown booze to an unnamed CIA official: “Bottle of Alcohol. Rec'd—7/25/2022. Est. Value—$7,651.00 Disposition—Destroyed.”
Destroyed??? There’s probably quite a little a story there.
First lady Jill Biden appears to have bought a gold brooch and earrings she received from her Ukrainian counterpart, Olena Zelenska. Jill Biden appears to also have kept a sweater she received from Macron.
And New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern may have given Biden the coolest gift he got in 2022. It is listed as “‘Mere’ Māori Battle Axe.”
Speak softly and carry a Māori Battle Axe?
Vintage Knox. I always think of doing this and then Bam, Olivier gets there first.
Fun one, Olivier. Who is the person that announces names at state dinners? I wouldn't want to be that person when Brunei comes to town.