From chess sets to model jets, foreign leaders lavish gifts on Trump White House
WASHINGTON – Before President Donald Trump’s relationship with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau went south, the northern neighbor presented him with a statue of a “male lion” carved from Ohio sandstone worth $450.
And before Trump’s administration escalated trade tensions with Beijing by imposing tariffs on billions of dollars of goods, Chinese President Xi Jinping gave Trump a paper panel with five columns of calligraphy, valued at $14,400.
The artwork is among more than 80 gifts delivered to Trump and members of his family by foreign leaders during the president's first year in office and disclosed Wednesday in an annual State Department report. The gifts, valued at more than $140,000 in all, are turned over to the National Archives or other government agencies.
They include a portrait of a smiling Trump, sporting a red necktie, painted on mother-of-pearl panels from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas; a $935 fountain pen from Germany's Angela Merkel; and a map of the United States by 18th century French geographer Louis Brion de la Tour from French President Emmanuel Macron.
The most expensive gift bestowed on the Trump family came from Xi, a dinnerware set that includes an image of Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, worth $16,250. The two leaders met at the Florida property in 2017, and are expected to do so again in coming weeks to discuss a possible trade deal.
Another Trump building, Trump Tower in New York, was featured in a photo album presented by Poland's Andrzej Duda.
Horacio Cartes, the former president of Paraguay, gave Trump a chess set worth $1,800. The crown prince of Bahrain gave the president a model jet fighter, made of gold-plated silver, complete with missiles and rockets, worth $4,850.
Presidents and other federal officials are barred from receiving gifts from foreign governments under the Constitution unless approved by Congress – the same clause that has inspired lawsuits alleging Trump is accepting payments through his hotels.
But gifts of "minimal value" presented as a courtesy between heads of state are common. In those cases, a gift can be accepted on behalf of the United States. Like an awkward exchange on Christmas morning, the administration justifies accepting those gifts by declaring that "non-acceptance would cause embarrassment to (the) donor and U.S. Government."
Vice President Mike Pence, who has played an active role in the administration’s foreign policy, received $12,362 in gifts. That’s far less than the value of gifts the president received, and also less than the nearly $15,000 in gifts to Trump's daughter and adviser, Ivanka Trump, and her husband, Jared Kushner.
The most expensive gift to Pence was a rug valued at $3,200 from the president of Afghanistan.
The king of Jordan gave Kushner a $3,630 fountain pen with an 18-karat gold nib. A fountain pen received by Ivanka Trump from the Japanese foreign minister had a 14-karat gold nib and was valued at $1,180.
Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama, received a bamboo bicycle valued at $1,060 from the Philippines in 2011 and a golf bag price priced at $7,750 from then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Presidents and other officials may purchase a gift for market value. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spent $970 to purchase a black pearl necklace given to her by then-Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Foreign leaders were generally inclined to give art to the president, but were more likely to shower first lady Melania Trump with jewelry. Akie Abe, wife of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, gave the first lady earrings made of gold, diamonds and pearls worth more than $2,000.
The National Archives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Contributing: David Jackson
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: From chess sets to model jets, foreign leaders lavish gifts on Trump White House
