First Lady Melania Trump, whose public schedule has been sparse through much of her husband’s second term, stepped back into view on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, with an explanation for why President Donald Trump would set aside protocol and meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at his plane. Xi touched down at Joint Base Andrews that day for a three-day state visit, and the Trumps greeted him and his wife, Peng Liyuan, with handshakes beside a 100-foot red carpet flanked by a 21-person honor guard. Two B-1 bombers flew over the welcome.
Speaking on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends,” the first lady said the president decided to go to Joint Base Andrews himself because of the rapport between the two leaders. “He’s coming on our soil, and we need to welcome them with the most respect,” she said of Xi and Peng.
Presidents rarely collect a foreign leader at the aircraft rather than wait for the guest to reach the White House. Popes have drawn the exceptions: Pope Francis was met by then-President Barack Obama in 2015 upon his arrival in the United States, and Pope Benedict XVI got the same treatment from then-President George W. Bush in 2008.
The First Lady’s Announcement
The planeside greeting was only the opening act. Her office had already published the details of the trip on Monday, September 21, in a statement that used the honorific “Excellency” eight times. The release called the visit a significant milestone in the relationship between the two countries and noted that more than a decade has passed since Xi and Peng were last at the White House. Their previous stay was also a state visit, in September 2015, with Obama as the host.
Such enthusiasm marks a departure for a first lady who has made public appearances only infrequently. The president traveled to Beijing in May without her, and she skipped both the Republican midterm convention in Dallas and his September trip to Ireland. A few events have drawn her out: the Pentagon ceremony marking 25 years since the September 11 attacks; in August, the Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington, D.C.; and a North Carolina stop for her Be Best initiative. During Trump’s first term, she did travel with him to China.
Pomp on the South Lawn
On Thursday, September 24, the Trumps greeted Xi and Peng on the South Portico and held an arrival ceremony in the White House Grand Foyer, and the leaders later posed before a meeting in the Oval Office. Every branch of the U.S. Armed Forces contributed to the day’s announced program, which drew 479 military personnel and stretched across the South Lawn, the State Floor and the Rose Garden. An Armed Forces Full Honor Cordon was to flank the South Drive up to a display of American and Chinese flags, and the U.S. Army Herald Trumpets were to sound a fanfare from the South Portico. Indoors, “The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band would play both national anthems before the two leaders spoke.
From the Blue Room Balcony, the two couples watched a silent drill platoon review on the new helipad. The U.S. Marine Silent Drill Platoon and U.S. Joint Forces Command were also scheduled to deliver a presidential salute on the South Lawn, followed by a military review in the Rose Garden. The U.S. Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps and “The Commandant’s Own” U.S. Marine Drum and Bugle Corps were to perform there. A B-2 Spirit bomber and four F-22 Raptors were to close the ceremony with a flyover. Melania Trump hosted Peng at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art that day, where the two posed for a photo with choir students from the Hope Chinese School.
The couples were to reconvene that evening at the North Portico for a black-tie dinner in the East Room, the same setting where the Trumps hosted Britain’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla on April 28. Technology and finance names dominate the expected guest list. Chipmaker chief Jensen Huang of Nvidia was among them, as were Tesla and SpaceX’s Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Google’s Sundar Pichai, OpenAI chief Sam Altman, banking executive Jane Fraser of Citigroup and Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell. Tea in the Red Room fills the final day, Friday, September 25, along with a stop at the National Archives to view records tied to the American and Chinese relationship.
Objections From the President’s Own Party
The red carpet has not won universal applause in Washington. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, used a Senate speech on Tuesday, September 22, to criticize the welcome, saying Trump should not have invited the Chinese leader “based on all of the troubling issues we have with President Xi and the Chinese Communist Party.” China’s military buildup and its support for Iran were among the topics Wicker went on to suggest for the state dinner.
As the summit began on September 24, Trump hailed a “truly great friendship” with Xi, while Xi urged “healthy” competition between the two powers.
Real friction sits under the pageantry. Commerce, AI, the president’s conflict with Iran and Beijing’s ambitions regarding Taiwan make up a string of disputes that has weighed on ties between the two countries, and expectations for a breakthrough are low. Before the dinner, the two leaders were set to meet behind closed doors. Trump wants relations between the rivals to stay steady, even as he has lavished praise on Xi and called him a friend.
As Trump greeted Xi on September 23, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on Fox News Channel that the two countries’ trade truce — scaling back tariffs and refraining from new trade restrictions — was extended to January 10. “I don’t know whether a bigger deal can be done. I don’t know whether we will just roll the current deal,” Bessent said, noting the extension could give the leaders more time to talk at upcoming summits in China in November and Florida in December.
Trump has not hidden his wish for the staging to impress. His new helicopter landing pad will be ready in time, a piece of timing he told reporters delights him, though he complained that construction has left his planned White House ballroom unavailable as a venue for Xi.
Wednesday’s welcome was also expected to answer the reception Trump received in Beijing. Xi stayed away from the airport there, leaving the arrival to Chinese Vice President Han Zheng. Even so, a red carpet was rolled out to Air Force One, a military honor guard and a military band turned out, and about 300 Chinese youths waved Chinese and American flags, the children in white and light blue uniforms that mirrored the colors of the presidential plane.
