The Daily Populous Tuesday April 14th, 2026 morning edition
Authored by independent.co.uk and submitted by theindependentonline

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President Donald Trump took in-person delivery of his McDonald’s lunch order at the White House Monday — and that odd moment marked the most normal thing in Trumpworld the last 72 hours.

While holding his bags of cheeseburgers, fries and whatever else, Trump kept the delivery driver at his side while she weighed in on his no-tax-on-tips measure and he addressed reporters on a wide range of issues including the Iran war. The truly bizarre stunt played out as the U.S. began a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the president was embroiled in a simmering controversy over his posting an AI image of himself as Jesus Christ on Truth Social.

The publicly unscheduled but clearly staged press event played out just after noon as the press pool was ushered to the front door of the Oval Office to watch the president of the United States grin and receive two large bags of McDonalds from a delivery driver who then turned to reporters and praised the GOP’s move to end taxes on tipped wages in 2025.

“McDonalds!” the red-clad woman said in a tone clearly only audible to reporters outside the Oval as she rapped quickly on the door. Trump, a second later, opens the door: “Oh, nice to see you!”

“Nice to meet you,” the woman replied. The two began a banter about how the “No Tax On Tips” policy Trump championed during the 2024 election was now helping her as part of the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” passed into law last year.

In a moment of self awareness, Trump quipped to Simmons sarcastically: “This doesn’t look staged.”

Trump then addressed reporters and began a full press conference, the president standing side-by-side with the delivery woman in her red DoorDash polo shirt, and issued his newest threats against Iran and even spoke about his conflict with the Pope. His first question came from a reporter who asked about an AI-generated image the president posted and then deleted which depicted him as Jesus Christ.

“I thought it was me as a doctor,” Trump claimed of the image that portrayed him robed, holding his hand to a man’s forehead and healing him with a glowing white light. “It's supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better. And I do make people better.” The president did not explain why he deleted the image, which drew criticism from some conservatives and Christians.

open image in gallery Simmons stood awkwardly by Trump's side as he took a range of questions from reporters ( Reuters )

He also responded to a question about the current state of U.S.-Iran negotiations, and confirmed once again that the “sticking point” in the talks centered around Iran’s future nuclear ambitions. Trump had previously insisted that Iran had agreed to give up plans of developing nuclear weapons in the future as he insisted that his war with the country was already won, but over the weekend changed his story to admit that Tehran’s refusal to agree to U.S. demands regarding its nuclear program was the reason for the conflict continuing.

"[The sticking point] was over nuclear, yeah [...] Iran will not have a nuclear weapon,” Trump told reporters. “And we agreed to a lot of things but they didn't agree to that. And I think they will agree to it, I'm almost sure of it. In fact I am sure of it, if they don't agree there's no deal, there will never be a deal. Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. And we'll get the dust back. We'll get it back either way; we'll get it back from them, or we'll take it."

Trump’s reference to “the dust” refers to Iran’s remaining supply of enriched uranium, much or all of which is believed to be buried under rock and earth as a result of damaging U.S. strikes at Isfahan, Natanz and Fordow, three sites tied to the Iranian nuclear program hit by U.S. strikes last summer. Among the U.S.’s demands include the transfer of any remaining material to American hands.

open image in gallery Simmons stood awkwardly by Trump's side as he took a range of questions from reporters ( Getty )

In one more embarrassing moment, as the woman identified as “Sharon” stood beside him, Trump turned from attacking Democrats to the camera and posed a question to the DoorDash driver who was still awkwardly standing there regarding her views on “men in women’s sports”, the president and Republicans’ shorthand for the right of transgender girls and women to participate in sporting leagues corresponding to their preferred gender.

She sheepishly replied: “I really don’t have an opinion on that. No, no, I’m here on no tax on tips,” as the president pressed her.

The Independent reached out to the White House for more details about the event and the president’s order.

White House spokesman Steven Cheung later posted a photo of a half-eaten burger he declared he’d “had to dig in” to.

Simmons, who the president invited into the Oval Office, is no stranger to Washington and previously testified before the House Ways and Means Committee for a hearing aimed at touting the “No Tax On Tips” legislation included as part of the GOP’s budget reconciliation package last year. The populist provision was part of a reconciliation package that included a massive surge of funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and also extended the 2017 Republican tax cuts passed under the president’s first term.

“This moment represents something bigger than a single delivery. It’s about the millions of Dashers across the country who are now able to keep more of what they earn when filing their taxes this year. With No Tax on Tips, Dashers across the U.S. saved hundreds of millions of dollars last year. DoorDash is proud to advocate on behalf of Dashers like Sharon and push for policies like No Tax on Tips because they deliver real impact to so many hardworking people and their families,” DoorDash said in a statement regarding Monday’s stunt.

According to information provided to USA Today by DoorDash, Simmons has completed nearly 12,000 deliveries on the DoorDash platform, according to her congressional testimony in July of last year.

“In early 2025, my husband was diagnosed with cancer and the toll that radiation & chemotherapy took on him forced him to reduce his hours at his job. Because DoorDash provides me with a truly flexible work schedule, I was able to drive him to and from his treatments. During that time, every extra dollar I earned mattered more than ever,” she told Congress last year.

def_indiff on April 13rd, 2026 at 17:18 UTC »

This was totally staged, of course. DoorDash drivers aren’t casually waved into the press briefing room. I wonder if DoorDash approves of someone donning their shirt and pretending to be a driver endorsing Trump.

NeoMegaRyuMKII on April 13rd, 2026 at 17:02 UTC »

> The impromptu press event played out just after noon as the press pool was ushered to the front door of the White House to watch the president of the United States grin and receive two large bags of McDonalds from a delivery driver who then turned to reporters and praised the GOP tax plan’s end of taxes on tipped wages in 2025.

Ok, so publicity stunt. Done on purpose to try and do the whole "see? Totally regular people like me!"

Megaphonestory on April 13rd, 2026 at 17:02 UTC »

Straight from central casting, door dash grandma. Plus she is hawking a book, and someone in the press had to remind Trump to tip her as a part of the show.