McDonald's Connoisseur Donald Trump Drops Harsh Review Of The Royal Menu During His UK Visit
The plan that King Charles III and the royal family had to stroke Donald Trump's ego by playing into his extravagant tastes on his recent trip to the U.K. seems to have worked. Trump got to ride in a gilded carriage – just look at Trump's revamp of the Oval Office to know just how much he loves gold. But when it came to the food, apparently, Trump wasn't all that impressed. As Trump was speaking to reporters on Air Force One, he was asked about the state banquet, where he sat between Catherine, Princess of Wales, and King Charles, and what he ate. He responded: "Whatever the hell they served, I don't know. Whatever they served" (via Forbes Breaking News).
Trump's clear disinterest in what he was eating falls in line with his fondness for fast food. On the other hand, King Charles likes to eat organic food. The state banquet menu featured British ingredients. It started with "Hampshire watercress panna cotta with Parmesan shortbread and quail egg salad," followed by "organic Norfolk chicken ballotine wrapped in courgettes with a thyme and savoury infused jus," and the dessert was "vanilla ice cream bombe with Kentish raspberry sorbet interior with lightly poached Victoria plums," per BBC News.
The menu also included specially chosen drinks in honor of the president, including a port from 1945 (Trump was the 45th president) and a cognac from 1912 (the year that Trump's mother was born). There was even a custom whiskey cocktail made for guests. Trump doesn't drink alcohol, so he didn't partake in these drinks. He did get a question from a reporter about whether or not he got a Diet Coke, his favorite soda, while at the banquet, but he didn't answer.
People joked about what Donald Trump would have preferred to eat, and there may have been a language barrier over the menu
Plenty of people joked on X that Donald Trump probably wasn't a fan of the dishes, and some said the lavish menu was wasted on him. One person joked, "He will have to get McDonald's on the way home." Others photoshopped their own versions of what they thought Trump should have been served. One thought he should have had things like chicken nuggets and onion rings, via X, and someone else suggested a "chicken bucket, deep fried macaroni & cheese ... [and an] Oreo McFlurry."
Perhaps Trump literally didn't know what he ate because the menu was in French, which is a longstanding palace tradition. Trump has confirmed that he doesn't understand French when it's spoken, so our assumption is that he also can't read French. And, given how Trump has bragged about having a high IQ, we doubt that he asked Catherine, Princess of Wales, or King Charles what he was eating.
This elaborate state banquet menu is in contrast to the menu at Trump's first-ever Rose Garden event, which included an iceberg lettuce salad and a New York strip steak. And if that's more to Trump's taste, we could see why he might have been taken aback by the U.K. menu.