dailyloe.com – President Donald Trump tipped a DoorDash driver $100 for delivering McDonald’s to the Oval Office on Monday. The staged event was meant to highlight a tax deduction allowing workers to deduct up to $25,000 from income earned on tips. Media cameras rolled as the delivery occurred. Trump used his favorite food and a reality TV flourish to promote the policy.
Sharon Simmons, dressed in a ‘DoorDash Grandma’ T-shirt, walked up to the Oval Office’s exterior door and knocked. Trump popped out and said, ‘Hello. Nice to see you.’ He then proclaimed, ‘Look at this!’ before glancing toward nearby reporters. Trump offered, ‘This doesn’t look staged, does it?’
The event was, of course, staged. Making it onto the White House grounds alone requires prior permission and passing through security. Accessing the Oval Office and getting close to the president would require additional screenings. Background checks would also be necessary for such access.
The White House is calling attention to a piece of the Trump-backed tax and spend package. The package was approved last summer. It allows Americans to temporarily deduct some federal taxes from income earned on tips. The provision lets certain workers deduct up to $25,000.
The deduction phases out for those with higher incomes. Officials are intensifying the publicity effort ahead of Tax Day on Wednesday. The issue has been overshadowed for weeks by the war in Iran. That war has raised gas prices and spooked financial markets.
The issue is also overshadowed by Trump’s feud with Pope Leo XIV. McDonald’s is a longtime favorite of the president. He has used the fare for political ends before. He famously ordered it to serve the visiting NCAA football champion Clemson Tigers in 2019.
That order occurred during his first term when a government shutdown reduced White House kitchen staff. Vast piles of other fast food were also ordered for that event. Trump staged a memorable stop at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s during his 2024 reelection campaign. He worked the fry station and took reporters’ questions from the drive-thru window.[]
Source: NBC4 Washington
