President Trump’s pre-inauguration candlelight dinner for wealthy donors took a turn for the chaotic due to last-minute placecard swapping, according to a report.
Attendees told CBS News that the Washington, D.C. event—which was oversold even though a donation of at least $250,000 was required to get a pair of tickets—was also blighted by long lines outside that left the uber-rich invitees waiting in 30-degree temperatures for up to 90 minutes. “It was a clusterf---,” one guest said.
One attendee told CBS they and others were left “freezing our a--es off” waiting to get into the event at the National Building Museum on Sunday night alongside the likes of Bernard Arnault, the billionaire CEO of luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, and Estée Lauder heir Ron Lauder.
“It didn’t matter who you were,” grumbled one person who’d contributed millions to Trump’s super PACs and campaign, though some diners said certain high-profile guests were escorted to the front of the line.
Things didn’t get much better when attendees were able to get in out of the cold, sources told CBS, as some placecards had been moved around at the eleventh hour as guests sought to get as close to Trump and his top allies.
“A lot of people got screwed up on the name cards. A lot of big people,” one guest was quoted as saying. They added that the changes left them nervous to leave their seat because they were afraid they’d lose it.
Some guests also said they left the event to get food elsewhere because the dinner’s main course hadn’t been served to all the tables until after 10:30 p.m. Others found the venue’s bar had closed by the time they got into the main hall.
Almost 2,000 guests attended the dinner in honor of Trump, who sat at a table alongside Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Bezos’ fiancée Lauren Sánchez.
Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump were at a nearby table with Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan.
