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It probably isn’t the best time to flaunt gold cutlery and fine china when the country is going through an affordability crisis and trying to figure out how to put food on their own tables. But tell that to Donald Trump, who busted out only the finest and tackiest gold the White House has to offer when King Charles and Queen Camilla visited for the State Dinner.
When Newsmax Media CEO Christopher Ruddy posted a photo of the tableware on X (formerly Twitter), another user shared the post in a screenshot and pointed out that the rest of us are struggling quite a bit. From gas prices to grocery costs, it’s a lot. But don’t worry, because Trump is making sure he’s the hostess with the mostest.
This goes beyond taking out the fine china for the British Royal Family.
We just want affordable gas and groceries. pic.twitter.com/RSzZfJQru0
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) April 29, 2026
The State Dinner was full of sparkling chandeliers, gold plates and silverware, and a general air of ‘us against them’ with Trump and his elite accompanied by King Charles and Queen Camilla. It came right around the time that almost everyone in the U.S. noticed those gas prices hiking way up and their usual grocery totals increasing enough to notice, big time.
So for the White House to sort of throw it in the faces of so many Americans, well, it felt like a digital slap in the face for some. As people try to figure out their next move financially, try to pay rent or mortgage or even afford to buy a home, and try to figure out childcare costs among so many other things, Trump hosts the State Dinner like the king he believes he is.
“Sell one or two of these settings and I bet 10 families could eat for half a year,” an X user wrote. “And now the ‘I’m paying for the whole ballroom’ wants HOW MUCH from taxpayers for that eyesore?!”
Someone also commented, “Let them eat cake! Actually, let them all die and turn to dust.”
“We’re hundreds of trillions of dollars in debt! There’s no money!” Another person added on X. “Well, except for the essentials, like this.”
Once again, it’s giving “let them eat cake.”
An evening honoring our shared values, traditions, and history.
— Office of the First Lady (@FirstLadyOffice) April 29, 2026
🇺🇸🇬🇧
The White House
April 28, 2026 pic.twitter.com/mYdW2c6MKd
Not only is that shared photo from the place setting at the State Dinner frustrating for the average everyday American, but Melania Trump also shared a post on X from her FLOTUS account. Her post features a fully edited video of what the event looked like, featuring the first lady herself putting the finishing touches on everything.
“An evening honoring our shared values, traditions, and history,” the post says.
The video shows close-ups on all of the gold details and, some might say, tacky accents to much of the decor. Again, this shows the huge difference between what government officials have and what the Americans, some of which voted for Trump, are dealing with.
“It’s Marie Antoinette style opulence, extreme royal luxury, greedy indulgence, elaborate rituals of toilette, decoration with entertainment, carefree, and absolutely detached from the struggles of the American people,” someone wrote on X under the post. “You dine on the blood of children.”
People also called out the rising gas prices Americans are facing.
For the average American, there isn’t much that hasn’t risen in price in some way. And, while no one expects the president to serve paper plates at the State Dinner, they also don’t expect him, or the White House in general, to parade it on social media for the struggling Americans to see. That’s the bigger issue here.
The place settings in the X posts might have already been at the White House. But the Trump Administration throwing it in people’s faces among troubles of affording gas, groceries, and other essentials, is the bigger problem.
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