President Trump received nearly $34,000 worth of gifts from foreign governments in 2018.
The State Department published a list of the gifts given to Trump and other U.S. officials on Monday, offering insight into how his counterparts around the world have attempted to gain his favor.
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French President Emmanuel Macron gave Trump a Louis Vuitton golf bag and photographs valued at $8,275, the most expensive of any of the gifts he received that year. Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc gifted the president a gold-framed portrait of himself, estimated to be worth $3,100.
Black leather boots from Malcolm Turnbull, the prime minister of Australia, and a white marble sculpture of a beluga whale from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were among the other gifts Trump received.
The president and first lady Melania Trump transferred every gift they received to the National Archives, following U.S. law. Meanwhile, Trump’s son-in-law and daughter, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, purchased bracelets valued at $3,185 that were given to them from the queen of Jordan instead of transferring them to the National Archives.
However, not all foreign gifts have been as welcome. The Secret Service destroyed a nearly $6,000 clock that the crown prince of Bahrain gave to Vice President Mike Pence in 2017, possibly out of concern that it could be used for surveillance. Several watches given to CIA employees will also be destroyed. The country that gifted the watches was not listed.
The most recent list pales in comparison to those from year’s prior. The president and first lady, along with his daughter and Kushner, received a combined $88,420 worth of gifts in 2018, down from the $140,000 total the four reported the year before.
