Trump hosts White House Halloween bash with superheroes and presidential lookalikes amid shutdown
WASHINGTON AP President Donald Trump hosted hundreds of costumed guests from superheroes to dinosaurs and even a sparse children dressed as the first couple as part of Thursday night s Halloween celebration at the White House He and first lady Melania Trump emerged on the South Lawn as evening was starting to fall to an orchestral version of Michael Jackson s Thriller Neither was in costume Trump wore a blue suit and red tie with a red USA cap his wife was in a brown coat over an orange dress The couple handed out full-sized Hershey bars and Twizzlers in boxes with the presidential seal to a line of children and their parents that stretched down the driveway Temporary walls obscured the view of the construction of Trump s new White House ballroom which has led to the demolition of the East Wing though a parked bulldozer could still be seen hulking on the other side It s a long line Trump declared It s almost as big as the ballroom The White House tradition went ahead despite Trump returning mere hours earlier from a six-day Asia trip that took him to Malaysia Japan South Korea and amid a executive shutdown in its th day Trump has called for the administration to reopen but congressional Democrats are demanding an extension of expiring tax credits that have helped millions of people afford robustness insurance Their Republican colleagues say they won t negotiate until the regime is reopened Trump s tariffs on Chinese imports have reduced inventory and raised prices for Halloween costumes for American importers retailers and shoppers Still the White House exterior featured dozens of decorations resembling large autumn leaves and fall flowers like orange and red mums The stairs leading to its balcony were crowded with carved pumpkins Among the children attending the Halloween party were those of members of the military and White House staffers Karoline Leavitt the White House press secretary came with her young son dressed as a pumpkin Katie Miller a former Trump administration aide was dressed as a skeleton while her husband Stephen Trump s deputy White House chief of staff wore only a business suit Hundreds of children tiny toddlers up to kids in their early teens came dressed as Spider-Man and Captain America ballerinas princesses and leprechauns Two boys wore suits Trump hats and grins like the president though they didn t try to pull off his signature hairdo while a girl with them wore a white coat over a dress like one the first lady might favor Several parents had USA caps like Trump Selected children were shy or skittish about talking with the Trumps but the president noted something inaudible to a child whose costume consisted of sitting with his pants down on an inflatable toilet stenciled with Wide Load on the back
