Happy morning! Tuesday is here. We’ll examine one of those planning coincidences that can only occur in New York. We’ll also think about whether a court decision would lead prosecutors to withdraw challenging cases.
Honored is Hillary Clinton, who lost the 2016 presidential election to Donald Trump.
According to Lotos Club President John Sussek III, the timing was accidental. Trump was flown to Manhattan from Mar-a-Lago, his Florida resort town, on the day that was selected earlier this year, well before the grand jury hearing the case against him decided on the indictment.
Sussek noted that one of the most recent recipients, Dr. Anthony Fauci, was a pioneer in the federal response to the pandemic. “We’ve had princes and princesses, senators and congressmen,” she added.
Since the 1870s, the society, which derives its name from the characters who eat lotus leaves in an Alfred Lord Tennyson poem, has hosted state banquets. Early members included Mark Twain’s pen name, Samuel Clemens, who dozed off during the 12-course meal that honored him. John Hay, who later held the position Clinton did, was also a member of the club’s original roster. Hay served as Secretary of State under Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William McKinley.
At state banquets, both Democrats and Republicans have received applause as a result of the club scheduling events like this one. After departing the White House, both former presidents Harry Truman, a Democrat, and Dwight Eisenhower, a Republican, were honored at state banquets. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a judge on the Supreme Court, was honored in 1996, a few years after President Bill Clinton nominated her for the court.
Over the years, the club has invited people with no political connections, including Yankees star Joe DiMaggio, astronaut John Glenn, and at least two musical theater crews: Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II (from “Oklahoma!” and “South Pacific,” among others ) and John Kander and Fred Ebb (of “Cabaret” and “Chicago”).
