live this summer on c-span. c-span now and free mobile video app and online c-span.org. powered by cable. >> on saturday president biden will be in new york to give the commencement address at west point. it will be third address at the academy. his first as commander-in-chief. watch live at 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. or online at c-span.org. c-span is yo unfiltered view of government. including media com. >> at media com, we believe that what you see here or way out in the middle of anyway, you should have access to fast, reliable internet.

that's why we're leading the way. >> mediacom supports c-span as a public service. along with other televion providers. giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> president bidennd first lady jill biden greeted kenyan president and his wife at the white house. this is the sixth and largest stat dinner of the biden presidency with an estimated 500 dinner guests in attendance. it's also the first state dinner in 16 years for an african leader.

>> menu features a three course meal. for the dinner, that includes the pairing of fuchsia and purple african roses.

>> this olive oil is from california and tomatoes are from ohio. so most of our produce is from around the country. for the main course, we are doing the best of both worlds. lobster poached in butter, a

great combination. in short ribs marinated and lightly smoked. wonderful corn puree and roasted turnips, sweet potatoes and squash. we wanted them to have seafood and also to make sure that we take care of our guests who are vegetarians and begin, so we have wonderful dishes for them. >> i say welcome to all of you, so excited to have you here today. excited to share desserts for the kenya state dinner. we did a homemade white chocolate basket and inside is nectarine paste which we made with vector readings into a thick paste.

and then we have banana ganache and on top, raspberries, peaches and then surrounding is fresh raspberries -- fresh strawberries, blackberries and blueberries. then in the front, we have the united states flag in the kenyan flag. and then we also have lemon viola flowers and orange marmalade flowers. >> thank you. >> thank you.

>> [indistinct chatter] >> guests arriving at the white house included members of congress and lester holt,

national urban league president mark and former president bill clinton and hillary clinton. also in attendance was howard university gospel choir and brad paisley provided entertainment.

>> miss stephanie. >> you saw the menu on tv this morning. . the menu. >> what would be the word of the day? [laughter] [indiscernible]

>> bradley and andrew benjamin bradley. >> the honorable michael mccaul and miss catherine mccall. mr. tracy bar caught.

ms. tracy donovan. mr >> mr. franklin amoo and dr. dana. the honorable brian ne, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. the honorable rufus gifford and dr. steven.

honorable michelle grisham, governor of new mexico and mr. manual cordova. ms. tonio boyd.

miss catherine womboi. miss elizabeth coscay. ms. labrata muhabi. mr. andrew awili.

mr. augustine. acting secretary of housing and urban development. mr. kevin young and miss cora. mr. kenneth and misses gina cooper. miss tina and mr. cornell belcher.

sarah biden and judy. miss ruth and mr. anthony. the honorable andre dickens and tracy wilson.

bishop daughtry and miss daughtry chambers. the honorable lisa jackson and miss alicia willed her. dr. valerie montgomery rice and mr. melvin rice. the honorable >> honorable mark morall and ms. d

langston bottoms. >> i asked my son if he was going to hold my hand, he said absolutely not. >> mr. lester holt and misses karen holt. >> i do not get out much. >> mr. doug mcmillon and misses shelley mcmillan.

miss wawa and annie gathru. mr. damien hewitt and miss melissa hewitt. dr. gretchen and andrew will:.

the honorable stephen k benjamin and d andre benjamin. mr. allen. miss british a anderson and miss lisa walker. mr. ed meyer and miss amy ward meyer. the honorable veronica escobar and miss lisa escobar.

dr. elizabeth's beer and dr. andrew spear. mr. everett kelly and miss liz kelly. the honorable cavalier johnson, mayor of milwaukee and miss dominique johnson. miss kimberly williams paisley and mr. brad paisley. >> i'm excited, it is great. it will be great.

that's a good question. i'm going to start with american saturday night and then all bets are off. you never know. absolutely, good and bad. i think part of country music is dealing with it in a way that other formats don't, so it is great. have fun. >> mr. kendall martin. the honorable mr. smith and misses spears. the honorable gale smith and mr.

mr. brad smith and ms. carolyn ann brown. shaw. we honorable mr. john bellinger and miss don belanger. the honorable benjamin cardin and miss cardin.

the honorable william jefferson clinton, or the second president and the honorable hillary clinton, 67 secretary of the united states. >> thank you. >> the honorable cory booker and miss caroline booker. >> this is when we show them how

sexy we are. [laughter] >> i'm with the greatest woman in the world, my mother. >> is this your first state dinner? >> thank you, thank you everybody.

everybody. honorable kamala harris vice president of the united states and mr. douglas emhoff.

ms. belinda french gates and mr. honorable dr. elizabeth sherwood randall and dr. jeffrey randall. mr. alex soros. ms. samar ariya. mr. david and me

campbell. the honorable bill burns, director of central intelligence agency and miss elizabeth burns.

the honorable jon bascom, undersecretary of affairs. the honorable ryan montoya, director of scheduling and miss joel perry. the honorable deb and miss naomi jermaine.

the honorable benjamin, white house communications director and mr. dean lieberman. miss simone townsend and mr. sean townsend. the honorable mr. johnson and miss tony johnson. miss didi and dr. dallas lea. the honorable cedric richmond and racquel richmond.

dr. francis draper and mr. andre draper.

[indistinct chatter] >> the honorable joshua, legal advisor to the security council and ms. moon. the honorable rafael warnock, united states senator and miss donna burke.

mr. john hope brian and misses ryan. the honorable christian, director of digital strategy and miss erica. the honorable dr. brainard, director of the national economic council. general charles brown, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and miss sharon brown.

>> thank you, great gown. >> mr. darnell and miss michaela cole. >> it is from a sudanese friend of mine. she gave it to me. yeah, i'm really excited and happy to be here. >> what are you going to say to the president? >> i'm going to think about it. it must be really tough because of the things that they juggle, i'm curious about that.

my boyfriend darnell, i'm from ghana and it would be amazing to meet the president of kenya. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> the honorable gregory meeks, united states representative and miss simone marie meeks. >> i come from queens. we have everyone there. >> miss nelson.

miss linda lipson and stevens stole. the honorable white house press secretary. >> a friend of mine made this dress. >> oyeh bassu and miss bassu.

>> and now a photo opportunity for the bidens and their guests now a photo opportunity before being escorted to the dinner.

♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ >> we'll now hear the traditional toast from president biden and president ruto at the state dinner. they share alliance and commitment between u.s. and kenya. the last time the kenyan leader

was honored with a state dinner was in 2003. no african nation has had one since george w. bush hosted ghana's president in 2008. >> we. the white house never looked this good. [applause] >> there's a bright light in the white house tonight, impressive and accommodating. jill and i are honored to have you here, representing the members of the african diaspora. one just left. you have been very gracious. you met the president this morning, he was here a while

ago. what i would like to do, president ruto, we share a strong respect for the history we can access together. president carter was the first president to host leaders of kenya at an official breakfast -- excuse me, dinner. and he said -- your counterpart said that he called the two nations neighbors and like neighbors -- i've got to get his quote right. like neighbors he said, we do not share borders, but we share beliefs in democracy, dignity, and equality and we want to share that with everyone here. these shared beliefs give our nations strength and let me end with a toast, an irish toast if you do not mind an irish toast.

made the road rise to meet you, may the wind always be at your back and the sunshine warm on your face. may the rains fall softly until we meet again, may god hold you in the palm of his hand. to kenya. enjoy your dinner. >> thank you, thank mr.

president. i thank you, mr. president for your invitation for me to undertake this visit. we have received the hospitality of the american people. it has been exceptional. the openness, goodwill and generosity of the american people greatly enhances our appreciation of your achievements and in keeping this nation as a thriving global powerhouse and it magnifies our experience of the beauty, of the

greatness of this land. we are proud of the robust economic security, people to people ties between our two nations and their shared values, which form a very strong bond of friendship between us. we gather here on behalf of the people of our nation to further strengthen friendship, solidarity and mutual endeavors that have united us for many decades. this partnership has cap a strong. in our pursuit of friendship, we

take a firm stance for democracy in a world where troubles have shaken the faith of many. for security as the he encz in of freedom for all of creation -- hope, trust, enterprise and innovation. and for prosperity, for the ultimate good of our nations and our people, so richly deserve. i am encouraged by our achievements over the past 60 years which have given people

hope, saved lives, increased wealth in investment and made the world more integrated and secure. what we have accomplished is nothing short of phenomenal. we can now face a complex and challenging future with great confidence in the knowledge that our collective commitment to our shared values and as long as we hold our ground and stay the course we will deliver to our people a world in which it is safe to dream, to work and to prosper. madame first lady, you have been so kind.

we have shared your home for days and have been treated with manifest generosity. this is a warm, wonderful, beautiful place and we are blessed to have been privileged to visit. it is now my daughter to ask you ladies and raise your glasses and join me in a toast to the well-being and long life of president joe biden and first lady, jill biden. for the continued security of the people of the united states and the interring bonds of friendship, and solidarity of kenya and the united states. to the president.