Paul Simon Sings ‘Graceland’ At White House State Dinner — Update

Paul Simon Sings ‘Graceland’ At White House State Dinner — Update

UPDATE: Paul Simon performed “Graceland” at the White House State Dinner for Japan‘s Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and Kishida Yuko.

Kishida also made a Star Trek reference at one moment, using the phrase, “To boldly go where no one has gone before,” then naming cast member George Takei.



PREVIOUSLY: Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are making a return visit to the White House as guests at tonight’s White House State Dinner for Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and Kishida Yuko.

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Also on the list: Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez, Apple’s Tim Cook, actor Robert De Niro and figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi. Los Angeles notables include Lynda Resnick and Stewart Resnick, and journalists invited include NBC News’ Kelly O’Donnell, president of the White House Correspondents Association, and photographer David Ake.

Rahm Emanuel, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, is also a guest with with Amy Rule, along with children Zach and Ilana. Not attending is Emanuel’s brother, Ari, CEO of WME.

Paul Simon will perform at the dinner.

As he arrived, De Niro, with girlfriend Tiffany Chen, was asked how he felt about the 2024 election. “What do you think?” he said, per a pool report.

The complete list:

THE PRESIDENT AND DR. BIDEN
 
HIS EXCELLENCY KISHIDA FUMIO, PRIME MINISTER OF JAPAN & MRS. KISHIDA YUKO
 
Mr. Akiba Takeo, National Security Advisor
 
Mr. Arima Yutaka, Director-General, North-American Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
 
Mr. Ayase
 
Mr. Ajay Banga & Mrs. Ritu Banga
 
The Honorable John Bass, Acting Under Secretary for Political Affairs, U.S. Department of State & Ms. Audrey Hsieh
 
The Honorable Stephen K. Benjamin, Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Public Engagement & Miss Jordan Grace Benjamin
 
The Honorable Anthony R. Bernal, Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor to the First Lady & Mr. Brian Mosteller
 
Mr. Jeff Bezos & Ms. Lauren Sánchez
 
Ms. Ashley Biden & Dr. Howard Krein
 
Ms. Finnegan Biden
 
Ms. Naomi Biden Neal & Mr. Peter Neal
 
The Honorable Richard T. Bissen, Jr., Mayor of Maui County, Hawaii & Mrs. Isabella Bissen
 
The Honorable Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State & The Honorable Evan M. Ryan, Assistant to the President and Cabinet Secretary
 
Mr. Neil Bluhm & Ms. Leslie Bluhm
 
Mr. Brent Booker & Dr. Katherine Booker
 
General Charles Q. Brown Jr., Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Department of Defense & Mrs. Sharene Brown
 
The Honorable Bill Burns, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency & Ms. Sarah Burns
 
The Honorable Kurt M. Campbell, Deputy Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State & The Honorable Lael Brainard, Assistant to the President and Director of the National Economic Council
 
The Honorable William Jefferson Clinton, 42nd President of the United States & The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton, 67th Secretary of State of the United States
 
The Honorable David Cohen, Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency & Ms. Suzy Friedman Cohen
 
Mr. Tim Cook & Ms. Lisa Jackson
 
The Honorable Roy Cooper, Governor of North Carolina & Mrs. Kristin Cooper
 
The Honorable Diana DeGette, U.S. Representative & The Honorable Lino Lipinsky de Orlov
 
Mr. Robert De Niro & Ms. Tiffany Chen
 
Mr. James Dimon & Mrs. Judy Dimon
 
Mr. Michael C. Donilon & Mrs. Patricia Donilon
 
Ms. Ilana Emanuel
 
The Honorable Rahm Emanuel, Ambassador of the United States to Japan & Ms. Amy Rule
 
Mr. Zachariah Emanuel
 
The Honorable Tony Evers, Governor of Wisconsin & Mrs. Kathy Evers
 
Mr. Fred Eychaner & Mr. Danny Leung
 
Mr. Shawn Fain & Mrs. Stella Fain
 
The Honorable Jon Finer, Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor &
Ms. TJ Fadel
 
Mr. Laurence Fink
 
Mr. Bill Freeman & Mr. Tom Loftis
 
Dr. Funabashi Yoichi 
 
Mr. Funakoshi Takehiro, Senior Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs
 
Ms. Susie Gelman & Mr. Michael Gelman
 
Ms. Xochitl Gonzalez & Mr. Daniel Lubrano
 
Mr. Robert Goodman & Ms. Jayne Lipman
 
The Honorable Philip Gordon, Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor to the Vice President of the United States & The Honorable Rebecca Lissner, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor to the Vice President
 
Admiral Chris Grady, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Department of Defense & Mrs. Christine Grady
 
The Honorable Jennifer Granholm, Secretary of Energy, U.S. Department of Energy & Mr. Daniel Mulhern
 
Mr. Jon Gray & Mrs. Mindy Gray
 
Mr. Rene Haas
 
The Honorable Avril D. Haines, Director of National Intelligence & Mr. David Davighi
 
The Honorable Bill Hagerty, U.S. Senator & Mrs. Chrissy Hagerty
 
The Honorable Bruce Harrell, Mayor of Seattle, Washington & Mrs. Joanne Harrell
 
The Honorable Kamala D. Harris, Vice President of the United States & Mr. Douglas C. Emhoff, Second Gentleman of the United States
 
The Honorable Mazie Hirono, U.S. Senator & Mr. Leighton Kim Oshima
 
The Honorable Amos Hochstein, Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor for Energy and Investment, National Security Council & Mrs. Rae Ringel
 
The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of New York & Mr. William Hochul
 
Mr. Hosaka Shin, Vice Minister for International Affairs, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
 
Mr. Hoshide Akihiko
 
Mr. Amos Hostetter & Mrs. Barbara Hostetter
 
Mr. Iijima Isao, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister and Cabinet
 
Ms. Ikuta Lilas
 
Mrs. Amabel B. James & Mr. Ryan Petersen
 
The Honorable Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives & Mrs. Kennisandra Jeffries
 
Her Excellency Kamikawa Yoko, Minister for Foreign Affairs
 
Mr. Katahira Satoshi
 
Mr. Katanozaka Shinya
 
Mr. Tony Kawai
 
Mr. Kobayashi Ken
 
Mr. Arvind Krishna & Mrs. Sonia Krishna
 
The Honorable Daniel J. Kritenbrink, Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, U.S. Department of State & Mrs. Nami Kritenbrink
 
Mr. Kunieda Shingo
 
Ms. Megan Myungwon Lee & Mr. Jeff Werner
 
The Honorable Mark Macarro, Tribal Chairman of the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians & Mrs. Holly Macarro
 
Mr. Maeda Tadashi
 
Ms. Judy Marks & Mr. Chris Kearney
 
The Honorable Doris Matsui, U.S. Representative & Mr. Roger Sant
 
The Honorable Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of Homeland Security & Mrs. Tanya Mayorkas
 
Mr. David McCall & Mrs. Donna McCall
 
Mr. Sanjay Mehrotra & Mrs. Sangeeta Mehrotra
 
The Honorable Jeff Merkley, U.S. Senator & Ms. Brynne Merkley
 
Mr. Mikitani Hiroshi
 
His Excellency Moriyama Masahito, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
 
Mr. Murai Hideki, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
 
Ms. Ellen Nakashima & Mr. Alan Sipress
 
Ms. Mira Nakashima & Mr. Jonathan Yarnall
 
Ms. Niki Nakayama & Ms. Carole Iida-Nakayama
 
The Honorable Bill Nelson, Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration & Mrs. Grace Nelson
 
Mr. Niinami Takeshi
 
Ms. Kelly O’Donnell & Mr. J. David Ake
 
Dr. Okina Yuri
 
Mr. Ono Keiichi, Senior Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs
 
Mr. Otsuru Tetsuya, Executive Secretary to the Prime Minister
 
The Honorable Thomas E. Perez, Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs & Ms. Ann Marie Staudenmaier
 
The Honorable John D. Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation & Ms. Mae Podesta
 
The Honorable Jerome Powell, Chair of the Federal Reserve of the United States & Mrs. Elissa Leonard
 
The Honorable Natalie H. Quillian, Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff & Mr. Ryan Quillian
 
The Honorable Gina Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce & Mr. Andy Moffit
 
The Honorable Mira Rapp-Hooper, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for East Asia and Oceania, National Security Council & Mr. Matthew Brest
 
The Honorable Bruce N. Reed, Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff & Ms. Bonnie LePard
 
Mrs. Lynda Resnick & Mr. Stewart Resnick
 
The Honorable Steve Ricchetti, Assistant to the President and Counselor to the President & Mrs. Amy Ricchetti
 
Ms. Cecile Richards & Mr. Kirk Adams
 
Mr. Robert Roche & Mrs. Ritsuko Hattori Roche
 
Mr. Josh Rogin & Mrs. Ali Rogin
 
Mr. Ethan Rosenzweig, Acting Chief of Protocol, U.S. Department of State
 
Mr. Michael J. Sacks & Mrs. Cari Sacks
 
His Excellency Saito Ken, Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry 
 
Mr. Sawada Jun
 
Mr. Serizawa Kiyoshi, Vice Minister for International Affairs, Ministry of Defense
 
The Honorable Josh Shapiro, Governor of Pennsylvania & Mrs. Lori Shapiro
 
Mr. Alex Hideo Shibutani
 
Ms. Maia Harumi Shibutani
 
Mr. Shikata Noriyuki, Cabinet Secretary for Public Affairs
 
Mr. Shimada Takashi, Executive Secretary to the Prime Minister
 
Mr. Brad Smith & Mr. Gregory Smith
 
Mr. Masayoshi Son
 
Mr. Robert Michael Stavis & Mrs. Amy Stavis
 
The Honorable Jake J. Sullivan, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs & Ms. Maggie Goodlander
 
The Honorable Katherine Tai, United States Trade Representative & Mr. Robert Skidmore
 
The Honorable Mark Takano, U.S. Representative & Mr. Glen Fukushima
 
The Honorable Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations & Mr. Lafayette Greenfield, II
 
The Honorable Jill Tokuda, U.S. Representative & Ms. Susan Morita
 
Ms. Maria D. Toler & Ms. Casey Albert
 
The Honorable Annie Tomasini, Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff & Mr. Ray Tomasini
 
Ms. Ueno Yukiko
 
The Honorable Pranay Vaddi, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Arms Control, Disarmament, and Nonproliferation, National Security Council & Mrs. Megan Vaddi
 
The Honorable Richard Verma, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, U.S. Department of State & Ms. Zoe Verma
 
The Honorable Lorraine A. Voles, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the Vice President & Ms. Ruby Smith
 
Mr. Kent Walker & Ms. Diana Walsh
 
Mr. Mark Walter & Mrs. Kimbra Walter
 
The Honorable Steven Westly & Mrs. Anita Yu Westly
 
Mr. Eugene Woods & Ms. Lauren Wooden
 
His Excellency Yamada Shigeo, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the United States
 
Ms. Kristi Yamaguchi & Ms. Yukiko Saegusa
 
Mr. Yamamoto Takayoshi, Executive Secretary to the Prime Minister of Japan
 
The Honorable Janet L. Yellen, Secretary of the Treasury, U.S. Department of Treasury & The Honorable Adewale Adeyemo, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, U.S. Department of Treasury
 
Mr. David Zapolsky & Ms. Lynn Hubbard
 
The Honorable Jeff Zients, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the President & Mrs. Mary Zients