Donald Trump’s first dinner outing of his second term has sparked a wave of attention, not only for the restaurant he visited but mainly for renewed ridicule over his polarizing food preferences.
On Tuesday evening, Trump made a rare excursion from the White House and traveled in his motorcade to Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab, located on 15th Street in Washington D.C.
Anthony Bourdain on Donald Trump: “I just find him personally objectionable. I don’t think he likes food. He only eats steak well done. If he knows how to use chopsticks, much less be able to grasp them with those tiny little nubbins, I’d be shocked.” pic.twitter.com/If8Gceo0pS
— Marco Foster (@MarcoFoster_) September 9, 2025
The dinner was quite politically motivated as it was done by the White House as a move to highlight the administration’s claims of restoring public safety in the capital. Trump has previously used federal forces and the military to address what he described as a citywide crime emergency.
Joining the president were Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and several senior officials. However, the visit did not go entirely as planned. Inside the upscale restaurant, Trump was met by protestors who labeled him “the Hitler of our time” and chanted “Free Palestine!”
Despite the disruption, the dinner itself carried on, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later confirming that Trump’s meal included crab, shrimp, salad, steak, and dessert. Yet it wasn’t the menu items that dominated the headlines, it was Trump’s consistent preference for eating steak only one way.
The renewed spotlight on his eating habits has reignited criticism that dates back years. Following his night out, an old clip of the late chef and travel documentarian Anthony Bourdain resurfaced online. In the viral video, Bourdain bluntly stated: “I just find him personally objectionable. I don’t think he likes food. He only eats steak well done. If he knows how to use chopsticks, much less be able to grasp them with those tiny little nubbins, I’d be shocked.”
Social media users quickly echoed Bourdain’s disdain. One viewer wrote, “I just realized Donald Trump only eats steak well done. Who can trust a mfer like that???” Another remarked, “Trump eats his steak well done. What a f—— loser.”
A third quipped, “Only eats steak well done? I’m done with him. To hell with kim jong trump and his dynasty.” Others were equally blunt, with one additional critic commenting, “Trump eats steak well done? Gross!!”
The fascination with Trump’s well-known steak preference isn’t new. Back in 2016, his longtime butler at Mar-a-Lago, Anthony Senecal, told The New York Times that the president likes his steak cooked so thoroughly that “it would rock on the plate.”
Making things even more controversial, Trump has also been reported to pair the steak with ketchup. Forbes previously reported that the president is fond of this pairing, which many food critics consider an unforgivable culinary offense.
Trump’s dietary preferences extend beyond steak. His love of fast food, especially McDonald’s, has been extensively documented. He is said to often skip breakfast, but when he does eat it, he may opt for a McMuffin.
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His former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski wrote in his book Let Trump Be Trump that the president would regularly consume a staggering McDonald’s order consisting of two Big Macs, two Filet-O-Fish sandwiches, and a milkshake.
Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner also shared an anecdote in his 2022 memoir, recalling how McDonald’s became the sign of Trump’s health condition when he contracted COVID-19 in 2020. “I knew he was feeling better when he requested one of his favorite meals: a McDonald’s Big Mac, Filet-o-Fish, fries and a vanilla shake,” Kushner wrote.
Guilfoyle on Trump’s diet: “He’s really authentic. He’s one of the guys. He loves McDonalds, he loves the Pizza Hut. He likes the fish sandwich, the chicken sandwich, Big Mac, the Quarter Pounder, and of course the fries.” pic.twitter.com/KUCuNBcUv6
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) February 24, 2023
Beyond McDonald’s, Trump’s list of favorites is rounded out by KFC, New York-style cheese pizza, Wendy’s, and ice cream. His fondness for familiar, mass-market foods has often been seen as incongruous with the elite surroundings of the presidency.
Tuesday night’s dinner at Joe’s was particularly notable because Trump seldom dines out in Washington during his time in office. While his administration tried to frame the outing as a celebration of restored safety in the capital, what the meal actually did was reignite the longstanding conversations about his eating habits.
