Pool report #17 / Palace entrance and receiving line

Upon arrival, pool was rushed to an area of the palace where it appeared Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and his wife had just greeted POTUS.

They were in a large atrium, more of the marble that POTUS has raved about several times today. Drumming music and singing could be heard from outside, and a smell of incense filled the room inside. A massive chandelier hangs over them.

At one point POTUS paused and looked over at the pool, spreading his arms out. “Nice house! Nice house!” he said.

He and the Qatari leader then walked over and stood on a red rug together and a long line formed off to the side, a receiving line that stretched into a hallway.

There was a large collection of men dressed in traditional dress of the country but there are also a number of notables in western suits, identified with help from eagle-eyed co-pooler Jonathan Swan.

Among them is Chris Ruddy, the founder of Newsmax; Antonio Gracias, one of Elon Musk’s closest friends; and Piers Morgan. The Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg was also spotted, as well as Fox News anchor Bret Baier and Patrick Soon-Shiong, the medical investor and Los Angeles Times owner.

Elon Musk arrived more than 30 minutes in, doing a chat and cut to get toward the front of the line. Steve Schwarzman, the CEO of Blackstone, appeared to arrive with Musk.

Steve Witkoff, Stephen Miller, Pete Hegseth, Scott Bessent also went through the line, along with other White House officials: Susie Wiles, James Blair, Karoline Leavitt, and Margo Martin.

The receiving line has been going on for more than 45 minutes and hasn’t yet wrapped. Will pass along more notables if we spot, align with more detail on the dinner when it comes.

Matt Viser

The Washington Post

White House Bureau Chief

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