Donald Trump and Ketchup: A History – Washingtonian

There were so many revelations in Cassidy Hutchinsons blockbuster testimony in the January 6 hearings Tuesday: Donald Trump allegedly grabbing the wheel of an SUV! Known guns in the crowd! But forgive this food editor if the image I cant get out of my head is ketchup dripping down the wall.

As the aide to former chief of staff Mark Meadows testified, Trump was so irate that then Attorney General Bill Barr gave an interview to the AP saying there was no widespread voter fraud that he threw his lunch at the wall, leaving behind a shattered porcelain plate and goopy red condiment.

Its no secret that the fast-food-loving ex-Presidents condiment of choice is ketchup. (Perhaps lesser known: Trump may, possibly, be a distant relative of the Heinz family.) Its been widely reported that Trump enjoyed ketchup with his well-done steaks. The tidbit originated from an anonymous server at Trump hotel steakhouse BLT Prime in an Independent Journal Review story thats since been deleted. Badger Russell, another former server at BLT Prime, toldWashingtonian in 2019 that this rumor was overblown. As far as Russell could tell, Trump ate the ketchup with his fries.

However Trump enjoyed the condiment, he certainly enjoyed it, and those around him did their best to accommodate his tastes. When Trump made his first presidential visit to Saudi Arabia in 2017, officials served him steak with a side of ketchup, alongside more traditional halal lamb and rice.And when Trump dined in the steakhouse of his own DC hotel, staff had very specific instructions on how to serve the ketchup. According to a Standard Operating Procedure document obtained byWashingtonian, the Presidents server was to open mini glass bottles of Heinz in front of him, taking care to ensure he could hear the seal make the pop sound. (Other detailed instructions included a seven-step process, with photo illustrations, for pouring Diet Coke.)

Trump wasnt always so formal about his ketchup consumption, though. In 2017, Politico reported that the White House kitchen staff couldnt adequately replicate a McDonalds Quarter Pounder with cheese, so bodyguard and Trump whisperer Keith Schiller would fetch him the real deal with no pickles and extra ketchup.

If we had to make an educated guess, it was probably a burger that Trump threw at the wall in his fury over the 2020 electionwith extra ketchup, of course.

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Food Editor

Jessica Sidman covers the people and trends behind D.C.s food and drink scene. Before joining Washingtonian in July 2016, she was Food Editor and Young & Hungry columnist at Washington City Paper. She is a Colorado native and University of Pennsylvania grad.

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Donald Trump and Ketchup: A History - Washingtonian