# Donald Trump's McDonald's Meal
Donald Trump's McDonald's Meal is a photoshop meme built on a May 2016 Instagram picture of Trump eating a McDonald's burger and fries on his plane after clinching the Republican nomination. Reddit's r/photoshopbattles turned the shot into a wave of edits within hours, and the image was pulled back into circulation in October 2024 during Trump's campaign photo op at a Pennsylvania McDonald's.
## Overview
Donald Trump's McDonald's Meal refers to a photoshop meme built around a picture Trump posted to Instagram in May 2016, showing him eating a McDonald's burger and fries aboard his private jet[3]. He put the image up to celebrate hitting the 1,237 delegate threshold needed to lock down the Republican presidential nomination[3]. The staging, a fast food meal laid out on a napkin next to the Republican nominee mid-flight, gave image editors an easy setup to work from[1].
Within a day, Reddit's r/photoshopbattles filled with versions swapping the meal, the setting, and the figures around Trump[4]. News outlets ran writeups on the wave of edits over the following days[2]. In October 2024, the picture came back into circulation when Trump staged a campaign photo op working the fryer at a McDonald's in Feasterville-Trevose, Pennsylvania, prompting sites to loop back to the 2016 image[7].
## How It Spread
The day after Trump's post, the "Truth About Donald J. Trump" Facebook page ran a black-and-white photo of former president Ronald Reagan eating McDonald's alongside the Trump shot, inviting followers to compare the two[6]. That side-by-side helped push the picture past political Instagram circles and into general meme feeds[1].
UpRoxx pulled together the best entries from the photoshopbattles thread for a wider audience[1], while The Huffington Post ran its own writeup on the picture[2]. Metro's coverage focused on the mockery piling up in the Instagram comments[5], and AV Club published a short piece under the header "Donald Trump feasts on McDonald's"[9]. Daily Mail ran the shot under the tabloid headline "It's Donald McDonald!"[8].
The picture had a second life in October 2024, when Trump staged a live photo op working the fry station at a McDonald's in Pennsylvania during his presidential run, sending traffic back to the original 2016 image and its edits[7].
## How to Use
The format typically starts from the original 2016 Instagram picture, with editors swapping out the McDonald's meal for a different food, replacing the plane's backdrop, or pasting other public figures into the seat next to Trump[4]. Common edits from the photoshopbattles thread turned the burger into caviar, put Trump at cartoon restaurant tables, or paired him with historical figures for a running visual gag[1].
## Frequently Asked Questions
### What is Donald Trump's McDonald's Meal?
It is a photoshop meme built on a May 2016 Instagram picture of Donald Trump eating a McDonald's burger and fries on his private jet[3].
### Where did Donald Trump's McDonald's Meal come from?
Trump posted the source picture to Instagram on May 26th, 2016 to celebrate clinching the Republican nomination[3], and Reddit's r/photoshopbattles turned it into edits the same day[4].
### What does Donald Trump's McDonald's Meal mean?
It plays on the odd pairing of a presidential campaign moment and a fast food meal laid out on a plane[1], with edits swapping the meal, setting, or figures around Trump[4].
### How do you use Donald Trump's McDonald's Meal?
Editors typically keep the original composition and change one element, the food, the backdrop, or the person seated next to Trump[4], following the pattern the photoshopbattles thread set[1].
### Is Donald Trump's McDonald's Meal still popular?
The picture had a fresh moment in October 2024 when Trump staged a photo op at a Pennsylvania McDonald's, drawing attention back to the 2016 image[7].
## References
1. [https://uproxx.com/viral/donald-trump-mcdonalds-photoshop-battle/]()
2. [https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-mcdonalds-jet_n_5747fbb1e4b03ede44146f5b]()
3. [https://www.instagram.com/realdonaldtrump/]()
4. [https://www.reddit.com/r/photoshopbattles/]()
5. [https://metro.co.uk/2016/05/27/donald-trump-mocked-after-posting-instagram-picture-5910947/]()
6. [https://www.facebook.com/TruthAboutDonaldJTrump/]()
7. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/donald-trumps-mcdonalds-meal]()
8. [https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3612129/It-s-Donald-McDonald-Trump-tucks-fast-food-feast-private-jet.html]()
9. [https://www.avclub.com/donald-trump-feasts-on-mcdonalds-1798247787]()
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Source: https://meme.com/memes/donald-trump-s-mcdonald-s-meal
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