in march 1888, riley traveled to washington, d.c. where he had dinner at the white house with other members of the international copyright league and president grover cleveland. riley gave a brief performance for the dignitaries at the event before speaking about the need for international copyright protections. cleveland was enamored by riley's performance and invited him back for a private meeting during which the two men discussed cultural topics. in the 1888 presidential election campaign, riley's acquaintance benjamin harrison was nominated as the republican candidate. although riley had shunned politics for most of his life, he gave harrison a personal endorsement and participated in fund-raising events and vote stumping. the election was exceptionally partisan in indiana, and riley found the atmosphere of the campaign stressful; he vowed never to become involved with politics again.