by senior contributor Brendan Kownacki
Photo credit: Brendan Kownacki
“You know it’s a party for foreign affairs correspondents when they give you a shot of whiskey on the way in” joked Raj Kumar of Devex at the annual Global Beat party in the days before the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner. The lively gathering, sponsored by Devex, the UN Foundation and Foreign Affairs Magazine has become a mainstay on the social calendar and reminding people of just one of the many ways that this Nerd Prom weekend is bigger than just the White House or the celebs. In a year that has been peppered with so many overseas events that ring with loud connections to DC, it’s easy to see just why the reporters circling the globe to beam news back home have a seat at the table in the yearly celebration.
A very active media and political crowd was gathered at the UN Foundation Headquarters for the revelry which included a pop in by House of Cards actor Michael Kelly who once again wanted to emphasize with a bright smile that he is not nearly as dastardly as his on-screen character Doug Stamper.
Foreign Affairs publisher Lynda Hammes, Kenneth Cole Courageous inductee Mari Malek, celebrity chef José Andrés, House of Cards actor Michael Kelly, UN Foundation CEO Kathy Calvin and Devex founding president Raj Kumar
Also joining in the fun was celebrity chef José Andrés, who was not shy about jabbing at GOP front-runner Donald Trump. Sure, he may be in a lawsuit with him about a restaurant in his new hotel but Andrés had a more serious tone to his message pointing out, “I am one of those immigrants” he said, reference Trump’s plan to build a wall on the Mexican border to keep out illegal immigrants. Andrés then referenced that he often times feels close with journalists since he thinks journalism centers around telling a story and so does food…and not to let his time at the podium be without a good cause, he called on journalists to use their platforms to fight global hunger and poverty.
Lynda Hammes
Fun with a good cause and the weekend is just getting started.
