President Donald Trump will be the guest of honor at a state dinner hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palace of Versailles this weekend, an invitation Trump described as “the real deal.” The dinner, held during the G-7 summit, places Trump in a venue historically reserved for only a few American leaders. The last U.S. president to be hosted at Versailles as the sole foreign guest of honor was John F. Kennedy in 1961.
Trump said one of the deciding factors in accepting the invitation was that Versailles offered genuine grandeur rather than imitation. “Not gold leaf,” he said, but “the real deal.” The comment echoes Trump’s well-documented taste for opulence; he has likened himself to a king and redecorated the Oval Office with gold paint and gold ornaments. The president has also overseen renovations at the White House and proposed a $400 million ballroom expansion.
The Palace of Versailles, a 2,300-room estate set on more than 800 hectares west of Paris, was built as an architectural embodiment of the Sun King, Louis XIV. It later became the home of Louis XVI when the Women’s March on Versailles in 1789 heralded the beginning of the end of the French monarchy. Macron has made heavy use of the palace as a symbol of French luxury, power and diplomacy. In 2017, he hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin there, driving him around the grounds in an electric golf cart and holding a joint press conference in the Gallery of Battles. In 2023, Macron hosted King Charles III in the Hall of Mirrors for a state banquet.
Trump’s itinerary at Versailles will include tours of key rooms before dinner in the Lower Gallery, a space that opens onto a terrace with views of the palace’s formal gardens. The table will be set amid an array of statues commissioned by Louis XIV himself.
The vast estate has long fascinated wealthy Americans; the Vanderbilts’ Marble House in Newport, Rhode Island, was among many buildings inspired by its architecture.
French pomp has also shaped Trump’s own ambitions. After attending the Bastille Day military parade in Paris in 2017, Trump expressed interest in staging a similar show of strength in Washington. More recently, Trump called the Élysée Palace — the 365-room presidential residence in Paris that is twice the size of the White House — a “beautiful building.” Time will tell whether dinner at Versailles gives him fresh ideas for grand design and décor projects back home.