A lavish White House dinner hosted by US President Donald Trump for visiting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman on Tuesday featured a star-studded guest list that included Portuguese soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, billionaire Elon Musk and Apple CEO Tim Cook.
At the dinner on Tuesday night, tuxedo-clad President and First Lady Melania Trump welcomed the crown prince back on the red carpet before treating him to dinner.
The dinner was attended by tech titans such as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Tesla founder Elon Musk and Apple CEO Tim Cook, along with golfer Bryson DeChambeau and soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo.
They dined on pistachio-crusted rack of lamb, followed by pear soup for dessert.
During the dinner, Trump also praised the Saudi prince as “a man of leadership,” having previously defended his royal visitor over the 2018 killing of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The US president also announced that he is designating Saudi Arabia as a major non-NATO ally, a largely symbolic move that brings some benefits to foreign partners in defense, trade and security cooperation.
Barron Trump is a “huge fan” of Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo, the soccer star, sat at the front of the East Room, not far from where the president and the crown prince made remarks to the leaders of both nations.
It was a rare visit to the USA for Ronaldo, who has not played in the country since 2014.
Ronaldo has been the face of the Saudi Football League since joining Saudi club Al-Nassr at the end of 2022 in a reported $200 million-a-year deal.
The 40-year-old Portuguese star signed a two-year extension in June with Al-Nassr, which is majority-owned by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, which is chaired by the crown prince.
In his speech, Donald Trump made it a point to acknowledge Ronald, whom he said he introduced to his teenage son.
Trump thanked the athlete for participating. He said his youngest son Barron is a “big fan” of Ronaldo and the 19-year-old was impressed to meet the footballer.
“Barron got to meet him. And I think he respects his father a little bit more now, just because I introduced you,” Trump said.
