News & Politics

PHOTOS: Inside Biden’s First White House State Dinner

Check out these photos of Jon Batiste, Emmanuel Macron, and the dinner's glam decor.

PHOTOS: Inside Biden’s First White House State Dinner
Jon Batiste performs at the White House State Dinner on Dec. 1, 2022. Photo courtesy of the White House Photo Office.

Last night’s White House State Dinner—the first hosted by the Bidens, to honor France—was a glamorous black-tie affair, with an exquisite state dinner-worthy menu (butter-poached lobster, mais oui) and a celebrity-packed guest list. Check out these official White House images.

The 300 or so guests dined in this glittery pavilion on the South Lawn. Photo courtesy of the White House Photo Office.
President Joseph Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, and French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Marie-Claude Macron, follow military escorts down the White House Grand Staircase. Photo courtesy of the White House Photo Office.
Dinner guests got from the White House to the pavilion by heated trolley. Here, the Bidens and the Macrons, on a trolley. Photo courtesy of the White House Photo Office.
Jon Batiste performs at the White House state dinner. Photo courtesy of the White House Photo Office.
Jon Batiste performs at the White House state dinner. Photo courtesy of the White House Photo Office.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s place setting at the White House state dinner on Dec. 1, 2022. Photo courtesy of the White House Photo Office.
Inside the pavilion on the White House South Lawn. Photo courtesy of the White House Photo Office.
Tables were adorned with white irises. Iris is the national flower of France. Photo courtesy of the White House Photo Office.

Editor in chief

Sherri Dalphonse joined Washingtonian in 1986 as an editorial intern, and worked her way to the top of the masthead when she was named editor-in-chief in 2022. She oversees the magazine’s editorial staff, and guides the magazine’s stories and direction. She lives in DC.