PALM BEACH, Fla. — Victoria-raised music producer David Foster headlined a weekend fundraiser at the Mar-a-Lago attended by U.S. President Donald Trump and former prime minister Brian Mulroney.
Foster sang and played grand piano for the Saturday night fundraiser for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at the Mar-a-Lago in Florida, which Trump has called the “winter White House.”
Mulroney also sang to Trump at the event. A video posted on social media that appeared to be taken from a fundraising event shows Mulroney singing When Irish Eyes are Smiling on the stage at the Mar-a-Lago club.
“I would never presume to say that I could go to the president of the United States and ask him to sing, so I won't do that,” Foster joked before calling Mulroney to the stage.
The Palm Beach Daily News reported that Mulroney had been sitting with Trump and his wife Melania, who are his longtime neighbours in Palm Beach, Fla.
“Mr. President, I hope this doesn't fracture U.S.-Canada relations for decades,” Mulroney quipped in Saturday's video shortly before he started singing.
Saturday wasn't the first time Mulroney sang When Irish Eyes are Smiling in the presence of an American president.
He and his wife Mila joined Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy in singing the song during a meeting in Quebec City in 1985 that was then dubbed the “Shamrock Summit.”
In December, Foster posted a message on Instagram saying that he’d been asked to particpiate in Trump’s inauguration but “politely and respectfully declined”. This followed reports that he might be helping line up performers for the Jan. 20 event.
