A new burger chain themed around President Donald Trump is growing in Texas, and those who don’t vocally support him find it to be in poor taste.
A Lebanese immigrant named Roland Beainy reportedly opened the restaurant chain, “Trump Burger,” featuring burgers branded with the president’s name, American flags, and joke items themed around his Democratic rivals. The chain currently has multiple locations in Texas, and food reviewers have offered their opinions on both the food and the politics of the new chain.
“I’m waiting for my order at Trump Burger in Houston surrounded by merchandise including baseball caps emblazoned with ‘Trump 2024 The Revenge Tour’ and red T-shirts featuring a favorite line from the 47th President of the United States, ‘You’re fake news!’” Houston Chronicle restaurant critic Bao Ong wrote.
Ong, who said he keeps his personal politics private, added that when a fellow customer asked who he voted for in 2016, he recounted that he replied, “’I can barely remember. That was a long time ago,’ I stuttered with a nervous chuckle. ‘I’m hungry. What did you get?’”
The critic noted that the restaurant chain’s logo “features a cheeky, anthropomorphic burger that nods to the president’s comb-over with a swoop of golden-blonde hair floating above the bun. The red, white and blue color scheme and countless references to Trump feel like a shrine to the president.”
“It is not easy to simply enjoy your food at Trump Burger,” the critic said, claiming he had been approached by a professional Trump impersonator. “I was waiting for him to break into ‘YMCA’ at some point during our lunch.”
While he argued Trump Burger’s signature item was “consistent in its blandness,” and criticized the Philly cheesesteak for its “stingy portions,” he praised the “First Lady Chicken Sandwich” as being “better than the burger, with a nicely grilled, not-too-dry chicken breast draped with two slices of American cheese.”
He also praised the milkshake for having an all-American appeal.
“My dining companion and I agreed Trump Burger’s use of Brenham-born Blue Bell for the milkshakes was a highlight,” he wrote. “The simple-yet-classic preparation with ice cream, milk and whipped cream on top seemed as all-American as the U.S. flags blanketing the restaurant.”
While Donald Trump’s fans appear to be enthused with the restaurant in their reviews, Ong was not the only food critic to leave a mixed review of the restaurant.
Eater Houston food critic Brittany Britto Garley was far more explicit about her views on Trump, noting that the Trump Burger owner “has said he thinks Trump greatly improved the economy during his first presidency (spoiler: he didn’t).”
Garley referred to the humor of the restaurant as “brutish” with its inside jokes geared toward a Trump-supporting clientele.
“As with most aspects of Trump Burger, a menu isn’t just a menu. It takes jabs and attempts to drive political points home with brutish humor. The Biden Burger, which is reportedly the ‘Harris Burger’ on its Houston menu, features a 1-ounce beef patty topped with ‘old tomato’ and ‘the oldest buns available due to cheating and inflation.’ Listed under an illustration of former President Joe Biden with a red X over his face, the burger is priced at a very random $50.99,” Garley wrote. “‘It’s a joke,’ a cashier said when I asked if it was a real dish to order.”
“Every Trump Burger location tries to outdo itself in nationalist and personality cult esthetics,” Garley wrote, claiming that, at one location, “the vibe wasn’t festive — it was stiff, uncertain, and uncomfortable, particularly for me, a woman of color.”
“If you are someone who voted for Trump and supports his administration’s many compromising decisions, this place is likely for you,” she wrote, later arguing, “However, for those who see Trump’s legacy differently — as a man who has deported innocent people; stoked division; subverted the Constitution; and acted against values that include equality, access, and opportunity — eating here feels like an endorsement of someone whose vitriolic rhetoric has harmed, in many cases irreparably, the people he was elected to serve.”
When reached out for comment, an official for Trump Burger told Fox News Digital some of the reviews aren’t surprising due to the liberal bent of some news outlets.
“The Houston Chronicle maintains a predominantly liberal stance, so we expected nothing less than a biased take on anything bearing the Trump name,” the Trump Burger official said.