President Donald Trump personally delivered his McDonald’s lunch order at the White House on Monday — and that strange moment marked the most normal thing in Trumpworld in the past 24 hours.
While holding the bag of cheeseburgers, Trump kept the delivery driver by his side while she weighed in on his measure to not charge tax on tips, and he spoke to reporters on a variety of issues, including the Iran war. The truly bizarre stunt came as the United States began blockading the Strait of Hormuz and the president became embroiled in a heated controversy over his posting of an AI image of himself as Jesus Christ on Truth Social.
The unscheduled but clearly scripted public press event took place shortly after noon as the press corps was led to the front doors of the White House to watch the US president grin and accept two large bags of McDonalds from a delivery driver, who then turned to reporters and praised the Republican Party’s move to end the tax on tipped wages by 2025.
Trump then addressed reporters and launched into a full press conference, the president standing next to the delivery woman in her red DoorDash polo shirt, while making his latest threats against Iran and even talking 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 that depicted him as Jesus Christ.
“I thought that was me as a doctor,” Trump asserted of the image of him wearing a gown, reaching to a man’s forehead and healing his wound with a bright white light. “I’m supposed to be a doctor, make people better. And I make people better.” The president did not explain why he removed the image, which drew criticism from some conservatives and Christians.
(Reuters)
He also answered a question about the current status of US-Iran negotiations and once again affirmed that the “sticking point” in the negotiations revolved around Iran’s future nuclear ambitions. Trump had previously insisted that Iran had agreed to abandon its plans to develop future nuclear weapons as he insisted that his war with the country had been won, but over the weekend changed the story to admit that Tehran’s refusal to agree to US demands regarding its nuclear program was the reason the conflict continued.
“[The sticking point] ran out of nukes, yes […] Iran will not have nuclear weapons,” Trump told reporters. “And we agreed on a lot of things but they didn’t agree on that. And I think they would agree with that, I’m almost sure of that. In fact, I’m sure of it, if they don’t agree there will be no deal, there will never be a deal. Iran will not have nuclear weapons. And we will get the dust back. Either way we will get it back; We’ll get it back from them, or we’ll take it.”
Trump’s reference to “dust” refers to Iran’s remaining supply of enriched uranium, most or all of which is believed to be buried under rock and soil from damaging U.S. strikes at Isfahan, Natanz and Fordow, three sites tied to Iran’s nuclear program hit by U.S. strikes last summer. Among U.S. demands included the transfer of any remaining materials into American hands.
Simmons stood awkwardly next to Trump when receiving a series of questions from reporters (Getty)
In a more embarrassing moment, as the woman identified as “Sharon” stood next to him, Trump turned from attacking the Democrats to the camera and questioned the DoorDash driver who was still awkwardly standing there about her views on “men in women’s sports,” the president’s and Republicans’ shorthand for the rights of girls and transgender women to participate in sports leagues corresponding to their preferred gender.
She sheepishly replied, “I don’t really have an opinion on that. No, no, I’m not here to tax tips,” when the president pressed her.
Independence has reached out to the White House for more details about the event and the president’s orders.