Trump Gifts Xi a Bald Eagle Statue at State Dinner

President Donald Trump gifted Chinese President Xi Jinping an ornate bald eagle statue during a White House state dinner, presenting it as a symbol of the "free and soaring spirit of America" and hoping it would find a place in Beijing. The roughly three-foot-tall sculpture, created by an American artist, was given during the dinner hosted by Trump and First Lady Melania Trump. Trump described the bald eagle as a national symbol of the United States, embodying American identity. The bald eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, is a North American bird of prey with white head and tail, dark brown body, and yellow beak and feet. It became a US national symbol after the Continental Congress approved the Great Seal featuring the eagle on June 20, 1782.