At Trump’s IndyCar Race, a V.I.P. Invitation Became a Diplomatic Snub
Foreign ambassadors were promised free food and drinks, misting fans and shaded seats during the event. Then some of them were uninvited.
Two weeks ago, the State Department invited foreign ambassadors to what looked like one of the premier diplomatic events of the Washington summer: a V.I.P. zone at President Trump’s IndyCar race last Sunday.
The dignitaries would be brought by bus to the “Freedom 250” track set up in downtown Washington, according to emails that two diplomats shared with The New York Times. The invitation promised free food and drinks and “shaded seating areas with misting fans.” The dress code was “summer chic/golf attire.”
Then on Saturday evening, some embassies received another email. “Due to changes by the event organizers,” it said, the V.I.P. invitation was off.
The State Department apologized to the embassies and offered them general admission tickets instead. And several senior diplomats from countries including Germany and Monaco still got V.I.P. treatment. But to some of the disinvited foreign officials, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of offending their host government, the episode was the latest sign of the Trump administration’s lack of interest in traditional diplomacy.
One senior diplomat said they had cut short a vacation to be in Washington for the race, seeing attendance as “part of my duty.” Another described the last-minute change as particularly frustrating because embassies had been told on Friday — a day before the cancellation email — that ambassadors could bring plus-ones. And another said they had missed the Saturday evening email and arrived at State Department headquarters at 9 a.m. on Sunday, only to be told, along with several other diplomats gathered in the Harry S. Truman Building lobby, that they were no longer invited as V.I.P. guests.
