First Lady Melania wows in sleeveless floor-length, $6,000 Akris gown, as bow-tied President welcomes White House Historical Association for gala dinner

• First Lady Melania Trump on Wednesday wore a sleeveless black floor-length gown similar to one designed by Akris
• She appeared alongside President Trump at White House Historical Association dinner in East Room on Wednesday
• The annual event is a celebration of the nonprofit organization founded by Jacqueline Kennedy in 1961
  
  
  
  First Lady Melania Trump wowed those in attendance at the White House Historical Association Dinner on Wednesday.
  Appearing alongside her husband, the first lady wore a floor-length sleeveless black gown.
  The gown appears to be a similar version of a gown designed by Akris, which sells for $5,990. 
  President Trump, who wore a black bow tie, and the first lady spoke at the start of the gala, which was held Wednesday in the East Room.
  The annual event is a celebration of the nonprofit group founded by Jacqueline Kennedy in 1961.
  
  President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump hosted the White House Historical Association Dinner in the East Room of the White House on Wednesday
  
  
  The president planted a kiss on his wife's cheek during the evening on Wednesday as the dinner got underway
  
  
  ‘The White House Historical Association has been a real partner with my office over the past three years, helping to fund this work and promote the important history and timeless beauty of the White House,’ the first lady said.
  ‘I want to thank you all for being here tonight.
  ‘This is an evening I look forward to every year.’ 
  The White House on Wednesday night was also lit blue in honor of Peace Officers Memorial Day.
  Earlier on Wednesday, Trump used a ceremony for fallen law enforcement officers to criticize big-city prosecutors he asserts don’t go after criminals who pose a severe threat to public safety.
  
  
  Trump pledged to the families of fallen officers that the country will 'never, ever leave your side, never disappoint you' but went beyond memorializing for much of the annual event.
  He singled out prosecutors in Philadelphia and Chicago as being part of a 'dangerous trend' by deciding not to prosecute 'many criminals who pose a severe threat to public safety and community well-being.'
  While the president and first lady were hosting an event at the White House, the opening of a new museum at the Statue of Liberty temporarily turned the 14-acre Liberty Island into a teeming hive of billionaires and stars.
  The Trumps purposely avoided the star-studded gala in New York Harbor that was attended by the president's numerous enemies in politics and media. 
  
  At one table, Hillary Clinton was spotted chatting with Oprah Winfrey. Before long, billionaire IAC chairman Barry Diller, in attendance with wife Diane von Furstenberg, sat joined Clinton and Winfrey at the table.
  For deep pockets, nobody could compete with richest man in the world Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, who gushed in a tweet that his Cuban immigrant father would be honored at the museum with a 'Liberty Star.'
  The festivities took on a subtle but unmistakable political bent, with attendees eager to highlight Lady Liberty's role as a sight seen by many immigrants arriving at nearby Ellis Island.
  President Donald Trump declined to attend the party, instead sending Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, who runs the National Park Service, which supervises Liberty Island and Ellis Island.
  
  

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