Kennedy uses humour to praise the concentration of intellectual achievement represented by the Nobel laureates gathered at the White House. By suggesting that only Thomas Jefferson dining alone could rival the assembled guests, he turns Jefferson into a historical symbol of unusually broad knowledge and ability. The comparison is deliberately playful rather than a literal assessment of the people present.

The following passage develops the joke by listing fields in which Jefferson was said to be accomplished, ranging from astronomy and surveying to architecture, law and dancing. Kennedy then invokes Benjamin Franklin, another figure associated with achievement across several disciplines. In the wider speech, these references support his recognition of scholarship, scientific discovery and the pursuit of knowledge across national boundaries. The quotation is therefore chiefly concerned with intellectual accomplishment and the breadth of human knowledge, while using American history to give the compliment greater resonance.

Full quotation

“I want to tell you how welcome you are to the White House. I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered together at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.

Someone once said that Thomas Jefferson was a gentleman of 32 who could calculate an eclipse, survey an estate, tie an artery, plan an edifice, try a cause, break a horse, and dance the minuet. Whatever he may have lacked, if he could have had his former colleague, Mr. Franklin, here we all would have been impressed.”