TRICK OR TREAT: Fright might be a common denominator across party lines, but the first couple will be taking a more playful approach to Halloween with a pre-holiday celebration Sunday at the White House.
First Lady Mamie Eisenhower was the first to celebrate Halloween at the White House with a luncheon for staffers’ wives in the State Dining Room. Skeleton decorations were strewn from the wall lights, and jack-o-lanterns, dried corn stalks, pumpkins and red apples added to the decor. But this weekend’s White House trick-or-treaters will be making the rounds, thanks to Caroline Kennedy and her late brother, John Jr., who were the first presidential children to celebrate the holiday with other children. The Kennedys also introduced a charitable component to the festivities with President Kennedy talking up UNICEF in 1961, according to the White House Historical Association. Former first daughter Amy Carter celebrated a birthday at the White House with a Halloween-themed party, as did Hillary Clinton decades later on more than one occasion. (Clinton turned 71 today.)
For Halloween with the Trumps, cornstalks will stretch along columns up to the second-floor Truman balcony, and assortment of foliage, decorative pumpkins, gourds and hay bales will add to the fall feel. Scoring candy from the President and the First Lady in front of the South Portico won’t be the main event for kids. Twelve-year-old Barron Trump might be nearing the post-Halloween age, but there are nine younger Trump grandchildren who could potentially join in on the fun.
The South Lawn will have a moon carpet, thanks to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration there will also be robotics displays courtesy of the First Lego Robotics League from the Department of Education. Paper airplanes will be doled out by the Department of Transportation, a tractor will be commandeered by the Department of Agriculture and emergency vehicles will be on view compliments of the Department of Health and Human Services will have emergency vehicles on display. “The Beast,” better known as the presidential limo, will be rolled in by the Secret Service. Before calling it a night, the underage guests will be invited to navigate a hay bale maze.
Kiddos looking to emulate or lampoon the president are in luck, given the plethora of Trump-related costumes being sold include a “Billionaire Wig,” a “Little Tycoon” pinstripe business suit and a “Ride-on Trump” costume that makes the wearer appear to be on the shoulders of a Trumpian character. FLOTUS fans will find Yandy’s “Model Wife” costume, a midriff-baring knockoff version of her baby blue Ralph Lauren inaugural outfit and The Leather City’s $99 Army green hooded cotton jacket imprinted on the back with “I Really Don’t Care, Do U?”
The latter is a copycat of a Zara jacket Melania worn a few months ago to visit immigrant children in detention centers. That is one occasion she has been trying to move on from for months. After another one of her wardrobe choices came under question earlier this month at the end of a four-nation tour of Africa, she told the media, “I wish people would focus on what I do, not what I wear.”