Romney's Ritzy 'Dine With The Donald' Meal Postponed

Talk about the biggest dinner disappointment ever — last night, a randomly selected donor to the Mitt Romney presidential campaign had to take a rain-check on his prize for donating $3 to the Republican's campaign: a meal with Donald Trump and Mitt Romney.

The as-yet-anonymous dinner winner was expecting to be treated to airport transportation in the "Trump vehicle," a stay at the Trump International Hotel & Tower in New York City, a tour of the Celebrity Apprentice Boardroom, and finally, the dinner with Donald Trump — and Mitt Romney, of course. There's no word on what's on the menu, but a dinner with these two strong personalities is already a lot to stomach.

The dinner was raffled off in Romney's "Dine with the Donald" contest promoted back in May as an incentive to donors. It was expected to take place prior to a $50,000-a-plate fundraiser at the same location, the private residence of stock investor Martin Zweig in Manhattan's Pierre Hotel, on Thursday June 28 — the same date as the Supreme Court's decision on the constitutionality of Obama's healthcare overhaul plan. 

Trump executive vice president and special counsel Michael Cohen disclosed that the meal was "postponed to a later date (to be determined) so that Governor Romney could remain in Washington, D.C., to respond to the court's decision." 

Despite this, the glitzy fundraiser at the Zweig residence went on, bringing in at least 50 guests and reportedly raising millions of dollars for Romney's campaign.

 

 

Trump and Romney have palled around since Trump endorsed Romney back in February. They later appeared together at a Las Vegas fundraiser the day before Romney collected enough delegates to become the Republican Party's presumptive nominee.

Romney and his campaign aren't the only ones to have tapped into the deep pockets of some familiar faces for fundraising help. Obama raffled off a glamorous dinner of his own back in May, when a New Jersey science teacher and a mom from Florida won an all-expenses-paid trip to Los Angeles to have dinner with Obama and George Clooney at the latter's Studio City home. Their meager sweepstakes entry donations got them seats in a grand tent on Clooney's basketball court along with celebrities like Robert Downey Jr., Salma Hayek, and Diane Von Furstenberg — all of whom paid at least $40,000 a piece for the event.

DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg helped organize the fundraiser with Clooney, and reported that "a record nearly $15 million" was raised altogether. 

Wolfgang Puck stepped up as chef for the event, facing certain pressure to create a dinner that lived up to the steep price tag and presidential expectations. The menu was top secret and designed under a confidentiality agreement, but we hear the main dishes featured "Peking Style" Roasted Duckling and a Duo of Lamb and Beef Cheek.

Surely Romney is hoping his dinner will trump Obama's, but thanks to Puck, it's a tall order. Perhaps the dinner would feature some of Trump's favorite foods.