On Monday, President Donald Trump made a campaign-style appearance around a food delivery at the White House, drawing media attention as he said he had tipped a DoorDash driver $100 after the driver brought McDonald’s to the Oval Office. Video and reporting from the event described Sharon Simmons, wearing a “DoorDash Grandma” T-shirt, approaching an exterior Oval Office door and knocking while cameras filmed, before Trump emerged and addressed reporters. Trump offered Simmons’ arrival as an example of spontaneity as he also tied the moment to the administration’s tax message.
The White House event focused on a federal tax and spending package approved last summer, which Trump said is aimed at workers who earn tips. The policy, as described by the White House, allows Americans to temporarily deduct some federal taxes from income earned on tips, with eligibility based on income level. Officials have been intensifying outreach on the issue ahead of Tax Day on Wednesday, even as the war in Iran has pushed up gas prices and shaken markets, and even as Trump has faced scrutiny in public statements involving Pope Leo XIV.
According to the reporting, the administration highlighted the tax break by bringing Simmons into the Oval Office setting and incorporating her into a question-and-answer moment with reporters. Simmons, whom DoorDash said was from Arkansas, told reporters she had earned more than $11,000 in tips a year, though the report said verifying any savings figure was difficult without a tax statement that was not provided to reporters.
The event was staged despite the presentation of it as informal, the reporting noted, because gaining access to the White House grounds requires prior permission and security screening, and getting close to the president would also require additional checks. In the account of the interaction, Trump acknowledged reporters’ presence, asked Simmons questions, and then produced a $100 bill, handing it to Simmons while smiling. Simmons laughed and said, as Trump patted her, that the answer was “Yes, very,” after the president asked whether reporters thought the moment looked staged.
Trump also invited Simmons and her husband to a UFC bout he is helping to stage on the White House lawn to mark his 80th birthday in June, according to the report. The exchange then broadened beyond taxes: Trump pressed Simmons on whether she believes “men should play in women’s sports,” describing it as a frequent theme in his criticism of Democrats for being supportive of transgender rights. Simmons responded that she did not have an opinion on that, and Trump continued to challenge her before she returned to the tax topic, saying she was “here about no tax on tips.”
The White House later said that Trump personally delivered the food to West Wing staff, including cheeseburgers and fries, following Simmons’ delivery to the Oval Office. The report said the White House did not provide details on whether Trump received a tip for making the second delivery, leaving the financial exchange centered on Trump’s $100 tip to Simmons as the administration’s headline moment for the tax policy.