A Toast to Free Speech on a Georgetown Rooftop

“I still can’t believe we almost denied entrance to Melania’s makeup artist.

Can you imagine her returning to the White House to relay news of this rejection while applying perfected strokes of smoky eye to the First Lady’s eyelids?”

After-party texts recounted what went swimmingly and what went awry during our debut launch last weekend. Mistaking Melania’s makeup artist for a violent, deranged stalker was easily the evening’s most memorable mishap. The entry oversight came from well-meaning staff who were hypervigilant about matching guest-list names to IDs. Somehow the mix-up pinned Nicole Bryl, the first lady’s trusted makeup artist for more than two decades, as another woman on our red-flag list.

“I think we both know you’re not supposed to be here,” our staffer, clipboard pressed to her chest, told Nicole, repeatedly.

Thankfully Nicole has a great sense of humor. We all laughed about it once she made it upstairs to the party.

If you know me, you know I jump at any excuse to toast life in the company of good people, especially in this town where everyone at any hour could always use a drink. In light of everything that transpired at the official correspondent dinner on Saturday night, coverage of the parties has been regrettably sparse. Spotlighting wardrobes and society scenes feels too trite after a third assassination attempt on the president, I suppose. It is a shame seeing that the weekend revolves around parties and the gossip they generate. Three days of stacked cocktail receptions and full-blown galas hosted by a range of media organizations make party recaps what everyone expects from “nerd prom,” or, as I prefer, the White House Oscars. It is the closest political folk get to glam, a way to navigate invitations that exercise soft power, networking, and influence amid competing peers.

I have to wonder if the current administration has anything to do with the spike in excitement surrounding the event. As a semi-biased spectator, it certainly seems that MAGA has breathed new life into what had been viewed as a stuffy tradition. Veteran sources say the dinner has not seen this much momentum since the Obama years.

A historical note: the dinner was effectively male-only for decades. Not until 1962, when President John F. Kennedy reportedly threatened to skip it and Jacqueline Kennedy pushed for the organization to include women, did that change.

Thank you, Jackie.

Attendees Included:

Cheryl Hines, Sage Steele, Lynne Patton, Landon Clements, Yemisi Egbewole, Leah McSweeney, Dakota Meyer, Scott Jennings, Bobby Kennedy III, Harris Faulkner, Ben Domenech, Eliza Collins, Natalie Andrews, Mary Katherine Ham, Taylor Hathorn, Larry O’Connor, Meredith O’Connor, Ryan Colby, Kevin Walling Alex Stroman, Theresa Payton, Lydia Moynihan, Billy Binion, Emily Domenech, Nomiki Konst, Brent Scher, John Levine, Gloria Taylor, Jasmine Wright, Tim Rice, Georgia Cohen, Lady Victoria Hervey, Jen Sey, Sarah Mills, Hogan Gidley, Paula Dhier, Ryan Manion, Nicole Bryl, Alex Swoyer, Farahn Morgan, Caroline McKee, CJ Pearson, Hanne Winarsky, Sophia Efthimatou, Zack Peter, Robby Soave, AJ Edelman, Martin Marks, Jacqui Heinrich, Jamie Kirchick, Josef Palermo, Adam Coleman, Sean Spicer, Erik Rosales, Kara Voght, Beatrice Peterson.

Many thanks to our lovely sponsors: 2WAY and XX-XY Athletics.

I will share recaps of the events I attended in Housekeeping later this weekend, but for now I am happy to report that our first official kickoff, hosted as a trio, was a hit despite security concerns in the days leading up to it.

Cheryl Hines arrived in Dolce & Gabbana with a tiny purse embellished with gems to match. Lady Victoria in signature sequins and studs. Women from mainstream outlets in patterned dresses and bare shoulders, while Josef Palermo turned heads in an oversized black satin necktie.

Renegade Women’s Cocktail Hour was a vision hatched by Meghan McCain, Vanessa Santos, and me. We played the setting and the timing smart. A sweeping rooftop happy hour on the Friday before the main parties, with a 360-degree view of Georgetown, meant minimal competition and the perfect kickoff to mingle with an eclectically curated mix of guests, from mainstream outlets to Bravo personalities and a fabulous flush of right-leaning gays, convening before the evening’s deluge of events complicated everyone’s schedules.

An hour before the event a wardrobe crisis ensued when I realized the cream suit I packed was a size too big and would photograph as a rumpled mess. Alicia, my niece and assistant, came to the rescue with a white satin gown as a last-minute replacement. Zara, naturally. In a rush I created another catastrophe when I dragged a dull razor over dry legs and then had to wrap my shins in washcloths bound by rubber bands to stop the bleeding. I am still nursing those wounds and a lingering rash from an allergic reaction to dime-store tanning lotion.

Security, was a primary concern. The level of protection required to safeguard what was meant to be a casual event is a sobering reality of the times. As the Daily Mail reported— somewhat dramatically—framing it like an active terrorist threat.

Between us we have an impressive collective of passionate haters. Mine would nudge me off a steep cliff if they could get away with it, and one of Meghan’s is dedicated enough to have legally changed his last name to McCain.

The week before our party, credible threats forced us to double down on security. Anyone who works in conservative circles knows this is commonplace when hosting an event. As dystopian as it is, even casual cocktail parties in DC now require armed guards in plain clothes. We relied on private security coordinated through the hotel and they handled everything professionally. Because the situation was a bit more unusual than what they typically face, undercover police were brought in as an extra precaution.

All that said, the party delivered on what we set out to accomplish: bipartisan camaraderie forged by unlikely connections as ode to patrons of the free press. For one night we could raise a glass, set aside bias, muster mutual respect, and toast each other amid a rooftop at sunset, shoulder to shoulder, with uniquely branded visionaries.

The MAGA Whisperer: Publicist Vanessa Santos Reps a Who’s Who of Conservative Voices Others Won’t Touch

“Santos is a Michigan native and proud Republican who remembers watching “Hannity & Colmes” as a child and marveling as Ann Coulter gave the late Alan Colmes a tongue-lashing. She insists that conservative voices can only elevate programming that has become stale in siloed times.

“I am obsessed with Scott Jennings,” she says of the CNN pundit. “What he has done on Abby Phillip’s show is what our evening discourse should be like. I am so sick and tired of everybody just existing in their own echo chambers. And the fact that Abby Phillip is opening up her show to this is really smart.”

After all, Santos believes right-leaning voices shouldn’t cower just because their positions deviate from the Hollywood norm.” — Variety.com

The next night at the Hilton for the WHCD, a reporter who had attended our event stopped to compliment our turnout, noting an impressive number of gays in attendance— the chicest sector of conservatism. She saw it as a sign that we are attracting a different kind of crowd, one that rivaled diversity typically associated with liberal festivities.

Surely, I thought, “MAGA’s Carrie Bradshaw,” would approve.

Daily Mail:

“The Renegade Women’s Cocktail Party, a buzzy rooftop event in Georgetown co-hosted by Renegade DC CEO Vanessa Santos, Meghan McCain and Substack writer Jessica Reed Kraus, had been flooded with hate messages after its location leaked online.

What began as the usual online vitriol quickly escalated into something far more sinister.

The venue was hit with death threats serious enough that organizers alerted police, doubled security, and deployed undercover personnel inside the venue.

Cheryl Hines, the wife of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr attended the event.

The next night, she was rushed to safety by Secret Service agents after shots rang out just outside the Hilton ballroom.

‘That we must worry for our safety at a cocktail reception celebrating free speech is a grim symptom of the times,’ Kraus told the Daily Mail after the shooting.

Guests arriving at the Grand Hotel rooftop on Friday, sipped cocktails and took in Georgetown views as Washington’s political class gathered for one of the most anticipated weekends of the year.

The guest list spanned media heavyweights, political insiders and high-profile personalities, including actress Hines, broadcaster Clay Travis, commentator Scott Jennings and former White House press secretary Sean Spicer.

But behind the scenes, organizers were on edge.

Kraus was even asked to provide a list of known stalkers ahead of the event so security could block them from entering - an extraordinary step for what was billed as a celebration of free speech.

Despite the heightened precautions, the party went ahead without incident.

‘At every step of the way we were taken care of,’ Santos said. ‘At no point was I scared because event organizers took every threat seriously.’

The guest list spanned media heavyweights, political insiders and high-profile personalities, including actress Hines, broadcaster Clay Travis, commentator Scott Jennings and former White House press secretary Sean Spicer.

Santos, who had skipped the dinner and was heading to another after-party, said events across DC were suddenly thrown into lockdown.

‘Everybody was scared and stunned,’ she said. ‘Nobody really knew what the streets of DC were bringing that night.’

The Substack party she had planned to attend was locked down as a precaution. Instead, she went home.

Others made similar decisions. Kraus cut her weekend short and flew out of Washington early, abandoning plans to attend further events.

For many attendees, the threats of the previous evening now felt like a blaring warning.

The weekend’s events - from online threats to real-world violence - have left political insiders shaken, with many warning that security concerns are now impossible to ignore.

‘I think everyone feels really uneasy right now,’ Santos said. ‘Nobody is doing anything without taking security extremely seriously.’”