“We have pizzas, we have 300 hamburgers, many, many French fries, all of our favorite foods,” President Trump told the national champion Clemson football team visiting the White House Monday night, showing off his giant spread of McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King, and other fast food items.
The president said he had to buy the food himself due to the government shutdown. Many criticized Trump’s fast food offerings by focusing on the ongoing partial closure of the federal government. This is fair game. The president invites these criticisms through his actions.
But many more simply attacked the president for serving fast food, period. They seemed to think it was somehow an indictment of him or reflected his character.
McDonald Trump doesn’t care about the Clemson Tigers. He doesn’t care or respect anyone. He basically insulted them and fed them garbage fast food when they came all the way to visit him in the White House as honored guests. Because he wanted to use them.
— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) January 15, 2019
Countless similar sentiments continue to be expressed on social media, particularly on the Left.
This is petty nonsense. Substanceless partisanship. It’s not a good look on anyone doing it. It’s embarrassing.
Can you imagine conservatives attacking former President Barack Obama for picking up food from Five Guys for his White House staff, which he did in 2009?
Can you imagine conservatives mocking Obama for how he ate his burgers?
Wait, that actually happened.
When Obama and Vice President Joe Biden strolled into a Washington, D.C., burger joint for lunch in 2009, the president requested his burger with spicy or Dijon mustard.
No big deal, right? If anything, it was amusing to learn the president’s condiment preferences.
Here’s what Fox News’ Sean Hannity had to say about it:
“Now take a look at him ordering his burger with a very special condiment. … Dijon mustard? I think the president watched just a little bit too much television as a kid.”
That’s when an old “Grey Poupon” television commercial played. Hannity even had a “President Poupon” Obama graphic in the background.
At this point in the Obama presidency, a big scandal for Fox News was when he ordered the wrong mustard. pic.twitter.com/fB0PTmM8L8
— Dominic Holden (@dominicholden) June 8, 2017
This is just childishness right? It certainly was.
Similarly, Trump serving Big Macs and pizza to football players should be seen in the same harmless light as Obama’s burger or chili bowl adventures, or even when former President Bill Clinton used to hang out at McDonald’s. Chances are the Clemson players’ White House visit was made even more memorable precisely because Trump served fast food. Many appeared to laugh. Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence was lovin’ it.
The president serving Whoppers at the White House should make anyone smile, regardless of ideology. For those who can’t, it says more about them than the president.
Jack Hunter (@jackhunter74) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is the former political editor of Rare.us and co-authored the 2011 book The Tea Party Goes to Washington with Sen. Rand Paul.
