The British ambassador to the U.S. was disinvited to a high-level dinner at the Treasury Department Monday night in honor of the emir of Qatar, as President Trump moved to freeze out the diplomat who wrote unflattering cables about his administration.
The move to pull the invitation for Ambassador Kim Darroch came after Mr. Trump tweeted that his government “will no longer deal with” the diplomat.
Mr. Darroch missed out on a glittering dinner in the ornate “Cash Room” at Treasury, adjacent to the White House, featuring a guest list of Fortune 500 CEOs and international financiers.
At the dinner, Mr. Trump called the Amir a great friend of the U.S. and thanked him for building a U.S. military base there.
“Better your money than ours,” the president joked.
“This is a who’s who of people in business,” Mr. Trump said of the attendees.
Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin hosted the dinner for Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, on the night before the emir meets on Tuesday with Mr. Trump at the White House.
The president said Tuesday’s meeting will be big, “from defense to purchases and trade, and I know everything’s going to be very positive.”
Qatar has been embroiled in a public feud with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, who have accused Doha of backing Islamist militants and Iran.
Among the guests at the dinner were Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenberg; Trump confidante Thomas Barrack, chairman and CEO of Colony Northstar; Ron Burkle, co-founder of The Yucaipa Companies; Michael Corbat, CEO of Citigroup; Bob Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots and a Trump friend; Eli Miller, managing director of Blackstone Group; Brian Moynihan, chairman and CEO of Bank of America Corp.; Michael Ovitz, former president of Walt Disney Company; David Rubenstein, co-founder of The Carlyle Group; Edward Breen, chair and CEO of DowDuPont; John DeGioia, president of Georgetown University; Raytheon Chairman Tom Kennedy; Milken Institute Chairman Michael Milken; Steven Mollenkopf, CEO of Qualcomm Inc.; Lorenzo Simonelli, CEO of General Electric; Patrick Soon-Shiong, owner of the Los Angeles Times; Randall Stephenson, chairman and CEO of AT&T; Chevron chairman and CEO Michael Wirth; Christine Lagarde, managing director and chairman of the International Monetary Fund; and World Bank President David Malpass.
Several Cabinet members also attended, as well as presidential advisers Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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