President Donald Trump took in-person delivery of his McDonald’s lunch order at the White House Monday — and that odd moment marked the most normal thing in Trumpworld the last 24 hours.
While holding his bags of cheeseburgers, Trump kept the delivery driver at his side while she weughed in on his no-tax-on-tips measure and he addressed reporters on a wide range of issues including the Iran war. The truly bizarre stunt played out as the U.S. began a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the president was embroiled in a simmering controversy over his posting an AI image of himself as Jesus Christ on Truth Social.
The publicly unscheduled but clearly scripted press event played out just after noon as the press pool was ushered to the front door of the White House to watch the president of the United States grin and receive two large bags of McDonalds from a delivery driver who then turned to reporters and praised the GOP’s move to end taxes on tipped wages in 2025.
Trump then addressed reporters and began a full press conference, the president standing side-by-side with the delivery woman in her red DoorDash polo shirt, and issued his newest threats against Iran and even spoke about his conflict with the Pope. His first question came from a reporter who asked about an AI-generated image the president posted and then deleted which depicted him as Jesus Christ.
“I thought it was me as a doctor,” Trump claimed of the image that portrayed him robed, holding his hand to a man’s forehead and healing him with a glowing white light. “It’s supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better. And I do make people better.” The president did not explain why he deleted the image, which drew criticism from some conservatives and Christians.
(Reuters)
He also responded to a question about the current state of U.S.-Iran negotiations, and confirmed once again that the “sticking point” in the talks centered around Iran’s future nuclear ambitions. Trump had previously insisted that Iran had agreed to give up plans of developing nuclear weapons in the future as he insisted that his war with the country was already won, but over the weekend changed his story to admit that Tehran’s refusal to agree to U.S. demands regarding its nuclear program was the reason for the conflict continuing.
“[The sticking point] was over nuclear, yeah […] Iran will not have a nuclear weapon,” Trump told reporters. “And we agreed to a lot of things but they didn’t agree to that. And I think they will agree to it, I’m almost sure of it. In fact I am sure of it, if they don’t agree there’s no deal, there will never be a deal. Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. And we’ll get the dust back. We’ll get it back either way; we’ll get it back from them, or we’ll take it.”
Trump’s reference to “the dust” refers to Iran’s remaining supply of enriched uranium, much or all of which is believed to be buried under rock and earth as a result of damaging U.S. strikes at Isfahan, Natanz and Fordow, three sites tied to the Iranian nuclear program hit by U.S. strikes last summer. Among the U.S.’s demands include the transfer of any remaining material to American hands.
Simmons stood awkwardly by Trump’s side as he took a range of questions from reporters (Getty)
In one more embarrassing moment, as the woman identified as “Sharon” stood beside him, Trump turned from attacking Democrats to the camera and posed a question to the DoorDash driver who was still awkwardly standing there regarding her views on “men in women’s sports”, the president and Republicans’ shorthand for the right of transgender girls and women to participate in sporting leagues corresponding to their preferred gender.
She sheepishly replied: “I really don’t have an opinion on that. No, no, I’m here on no tax on tips,” as the president pressed her.
The Independent reached out to the White House for more details about the event and the president’s order.
