US President Donald Trump presented White House invitees with a buffet of takeaway food from McDonald’s and Burger King, after the government shutdown left the executive mansion short on catering staff.
Clemson University’s American football team were presented with the unorthodox spread last night to mark their victory in the college national championships.
Players and coaches were invited to dine on stacks of burgers served on silver platters inside the candlelit dining room. “White House cups bearing the presidential seal held the fries,” adds ABC News, while dipping sauces were presented in gravy boats.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The president’s press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said that many non-essential White House staff had been sent home due to the government shutdown.
The 24-day budget standoff over Trump’s demands for border wall funding is now the longest on record, and has resulted in 800,000 government employees going without pay.
“Because the Democrats refuse to negotiate on border security, much of the residence staff at the White House is furloughed,” she said, adding that the president was “personally paying” for the fast food bonanza.
Nevertheless, “the substitution didn’t seem to bother Mr. Trump, and perhaps even delighted him”, says The New York Times - no surprise, given that the commander-in-chief “has long professed a love for fast food”.
Presiding over the smorgasbord last night, Trump praised the spread of items from McDonald’s, Burger King, Dominos and US fast food chain Wendy’s as “all of our favourite foods”.
“If it’s American, I like it. It’s all American stuff,” he said.
Trump also joked that he had elected to buy in the fast food rather “little quick salads that the First Lady will make”.
CNN commentator Joan Walsh described the comment as “incredibly sexist” and belittling of his wife, Melania. “We aren’t all here to make salads for men,” she added.
The New York Times says that official estimates indicate that “about one-third of American adults eat fast food on any given day”.
-
Will SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic make 2026 the year of mega tech listings?In Depth SpaceX float may come as soon as this year, and would be the largest IPO in history
-
Reforming the House of LordsThe Explainer Keir Starmer’s government regards reform of the House of Lords as ‘long overdue and essential’
-
Sudoku: February 2026Puzzles The daily medium sudoku puzzle from The Week
-
The ‘mad king’: has Trump finally lost it?Talking Point Rambling speeches, wind turbine obsession, and an ‘unhinged’ letter to Norway’s prime minister have caused concern whether the rest of his term is ‘sustainable’
-
A running list of everything Donald Trump’s administration, including the president, has said about his healthIn Depth Some in the White House have claimed Trump has near-superhuman abilities
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
‘Implementing strengthened provisions help advance aviation safety’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Does standing up to Trump help world leaders at home?Today’s Big Question Mark Carney’s approval ratings have ‘soared to new highs’ following his Davos speech but other world leaders may not benefit in the same way
-
Democrats pledge Noem impeachment if not firedSpeed Read Trump is publicly defending the Homeland Security secretary
-
Trump: A Nobel shakedownFeature The president accepts gold medal he did not earn
-
Trump inches back ICE deployment in MinnesotaSpeed Read The decision comes following the shooting of Alex Pretti by ICE agents
