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Trump to hold Ramadan dinner in the coming week
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President Donald Trump signs a proclamation declaring his intention to withdraw from the JCPOA Iran nuclear agreement in the Diplomatic Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., May 8, 2018. (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)
U
nited States President Donald Trump is expected to host a dinner next week to honor the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a White House official told the New York Times on Saturday.
The Times reported that although a guest list was not available, the dinner is scheduled to take place on Wednesday.
With the planned dinner, the White House is "restoring a tradition that Trump had abandoned during his first year in office, the Times said.
Each of former presidents Barack Obama, George W Bush and Bill Clinton held Iftar dinners during their presidencies.
The tradition of hosting a White House Iftar dates back to at least December 1805. when former President Thomas Jefferson hosted Tunisian ambassador Sidi Soliman Mellimelli during the American conflict with what were known as the Barbary States.
In 2015, during the presidential campaign, then Republican candidateTrump called for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States," an idea that prompted one of his rivals to call him "unhinged."
