US Army Band stuns White House governors’ dinner guests with 'My Way' performance

WASHINGTON, DC: Guests at the annual White House governors’ dinner got an unexpected serenade Sunday night when members of the US Army Band quietly filed into the State Dining Room and played a rendition of Frank Sinatra’s classic “My Way.”

The black-tie gathering hosted by President Donald Trump brought together governors from across the country to talk federal-state relations, infrastructure, and economic policy.  

A surprise in the state dining room

The heartwarming moment was captured in a video posted by Katie Miller, podcaster and wife of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. The band members can be seen taking their positions near the room’s floral arrangements and chandeliers.

Conversations paused as the first notes rang out. A few diners reached for their phones to document the moment. The rendition lasted about a minute, wrapping up to applause from those seated beneath the tall candles that dotted the tables.

“Absolutely stunning performance from the @USArmy band at the White House tonight,” Miller wrote on X. 

Controversy ahead of Trump's remarks

Ahead of the week’s gathering of the National Governors Association, Trump publicly mocked the bipartisan group’s leadership, consisting of Republican Gov Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma and Democratic Gov Wes Moore of Maryland.

The president initially declined to invite Moore, along with Colorado Gov Jared Polis, to a working White House event on Friday, before reversing course at the last minute.

Dozens of Democratic governors had threatened to boycott Saturday’s dinner if members of their party were excluded from Friday’s meeting. But even after Moore was ultimately allowed to attend, Democrats ultimately skipped the evening affair. When the dinner finally got underway, no Democrats were seen in the room. Instead, the black-tie affair featured top administration officials and Republican governors. 

In brief remarks, Trump kept the tone light and joked that state leaders “look in that mirror and say, I should be president, not him.” Though he avoided singling out any Democrat by name, the President did take aim at two Democratic-led states while discussing a sewage spill in the Potomac River near Washington.

“We have to clean up some mess that Maryland and Virginia have left us,” Trump said, adding that “it’s unbelievable what they can do with incompetence.”

Vice President JD Vance offered praise for governors navigating tough calls in their own states. When you’re in his position, Vance quipped, “nobody blames you when anything goes wrong.”

A rare meet and greet for governors

For many who’ve attended similar dinners in the past, the annual gathering has long served as a valuable break from the grind and a moment to connect with the President and Cabinet members outside the daily pressures of governing.

Some have also described it as a rare opportunity for governors from opposing parties to build personal relationships they might not otherwise have the time or setting to develop.

Asa Hutchinson, the former Republican governor of Arkansas who briefly challenged Trump for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, recalled being seated one year with then–Rhode Island Gov Gina Raimondo and getting to know her family.

“It’s a glowing evening in the White House,” Hutchinson, who once chaired the NGA, said in an interview.