This columnist really doesn’t want President Donald Trump to dine at a restaurant in Washington, DC.
The Washingtonian’s Jessica Sidman penned an op-ed arguing that the president should avoid restaurants in the District because of the political polarization America is currently experiencing.
On Thursday, President Trump indicated he might enjoy a fine repast at one of DC’s restaurants in an exchange with a reporter during a press conference. The reporter pointed out that Trump hadn’t gone to a DC restaurant in either of his terms and asked whether he would change this.
“How do you know?” Trump interrupted. “...Do you want me to prove you wrong?”
“Yes, please,” the reporter responded.
”But I think it's something we could consider doing. I'd love to do it. I love the White House food, but after a while, I could see going to a nice restaurant. It's safe,” Trump replied. “[Maryland] Governor [Wes] Moore, wanted me to go and walk through Baltimore with him, and I'm a brave guy, but there's no reason to be stupid. They have crime that's at levels that nobody's ever seen before in Baltimore. They've done a terrible job.”
Trump has fiery comeback after reporter presses him on dining out in DC after the crime crackdown:
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 3, 2025
REPORTER: "Will you visit a restaurant in DC? … You haven't gone to one in either of your terms..."
TRUMP: "How do you know? How do you know? Do you want me to prove you wrong?" pic.twitter.com/vXSP3SxEjY
Sidman responded to Trump’s comments, noting that “Pretty much any DC restaurant that the president might visit would immediately find itself in a losing situation.”
Here’s why:
In deep-blue DC, there are no shortage of restaurateurs who privately (and not-so-privately!) would not want to host Trump. Turning the President away, however, would ignite a firestorm of online hate, irate phone calls, Yelp bombing, and death threats. The Red Hen in Lexington, Virginia, became a national pariah when it refused to serve then-press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders in 2018 during Trump’s first term. But that blowback would be nothing compared to spurning Trump himself, particularly since the political temperature is now hotter than a pizza oven.
Trump, though, isn’t likely to go somewhere he’d be turned away, especially given the advance work required by Secret Service. And most restaurants would serve him because that’s just what restaurants do. Still, they would undoubtedly face boycott threats from locals and an onslaught of online and real-life rage. When Trump was re-elected, Brookland pizzeria Menomale found itself in the center of a neighborhood firestorm simply for congratulating him on his victory.
The author pointed out that DC restaurants have already been going through tough times due to “increased food and labor costs and the economic ripple effects of a diminished federal workforce.”
But there is also the issue of politics. She noted that “No one wants to become a political target” by having a polarizing president cut into a well-done steak with ketchup at their eating establishment.
Seriously, why does Trump eat his steak burned with tomato syrup? Everyone knows that any steak cooked above medium rare is burnt — and I’ll die on this hill.
Anyway, Sidman spoke with Billy Martin, owner of Martin’s Tavern, who said he would “be a little anxious” if Trump were to come to his restaurant. “But I’m not going to turn him away either…if he came to Martin’s, wow, that’s great.”
The restaurant has hosted “every president from Harry Truman to George W. Bush” Sidman explains. Many members of Washington’s elite have dined at the establishment.
“We’re not actively seeking him to come,” Martin told Sidman. “It is very precarious in the political state that our country’s in. It’s not easy. I don’t need him dining and leaving, and then people coming by later throwing rocks through the window going, ‘You hosted the president!’ Or people just barraging our social media going, ‘You’re a sh*tty place.'”
Here’s the thing: Sidman isn’t wrong.
I’m not saying Trump shouldn’t dine in DC. But the commotion it would cause is very real. In today’s political climate, Trump showing up to enjoy dinner at a restaurant could cause a myriad of problems for the owners of the establishment. Also, if the owners asked Trump not to come, it would also cause problems.
Either way, the restaurant is getting boycotted and pilloried on social media.
You might remember when Trump got himself a new job at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania, right? Leftists had a collective meltdown and slammed the restaurant for daring to have the Orange Man What Is Bad™ darken its door. They flooded the location with negative reviews, vowing to never purchase a greasy Big Mac from it again.
It’s a crappy situation to be in for any restaurateur. But it further reveals how divided this nation has become. In the past, nobody cared where a president enjoyed a meal. There was nothing controversial about it.
But now, trivial matters such as these are no longer so trivial. If anything, what Sidman showed in her piece is that something is seriously wrong with our society.