The venerable East Room, where Abraham Lincoln lay in state and Pablo Casals played cello, had turned into a mosh pit. Sweaty reporters, photographers and camera crews were crammed elbow to elbow. The Guardian shoehorned its way into a corner where a panel had fallen off the wall. Never used to happened in Joe Biden’s day.
The big event, an hour and a half later than billed, was Donald Trump’s joint press conference with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the first foreign leader to visit the White House in Trump’s second term. Two lecterns, two US flags and two Israeli flags were set up before a gold curtain between two elaborate crystal lamps.
