BURGERS FOR THE WIN

If you’re the Clemson Tigers football team and you just won a national championship, you’re probably looking forward to being a part of one of the most prestigious celebrations a team can get: a visit to the White House.

But in 2019 that means something different to every individual, let alone a college football team.

If the Trump administration got turned down by Steph Curry and the rest of the NBA champion Golden State Warriors, I would’ve expected something similar from the Tigers. Instead, considering what they actually got a couple weeks ago, they might as well have stayed home to celebrate.

When I saw the picture of President Trump standing by a table full of fast food on a silver platter, I thought it was photoshopped and that this was some satirical headline from The Onion. In fact, I was disappointed that it wasn’t some spoof or a made-up internet meme. In the midst of a government shutdown, the Clemson Tigers were treated with Big Macs, Quarter Pounders, and fries as a reward for their fight to win the national championship.

But context is key: This all happened during the government shutdown.

What would’ve happened if Trump had served them that fancy dinner they were expecting while federal workers were out of a job, or without pay? How much outrage would there be for that? It is a case of “damned if you do, damned if you don’t.” Still, this whole thing makes sense under the premise that the Trump administration is far from your usual political movement.

Since the beginning, Donald Trump has changed what it means to be a president and a candidate, and this is one of many times he shows that. To me, nothing represents the Donald Trump presidency more than this dinner has – everything from the internet memes to the awkward pictures, and the presentation of it all, in general.

The way I see it, a greasy McDonald’s hamburger, a cornerstone of American culinary culture, served on a fancy, expensive silver platter, metaphorically reflects Donald Trump on a political level. A real estate mogul and business man from uptown New York, whose celebrity persona and wealth characterizes the American culture of excess, is in the sacred White House. Donald Trump and McDonald’s cheeseburgers are a product of the American experience, yet they’re both juxtaposed with the traditions of political grandeur.

Now, I don’t think this deserves a whole lot of outrage and press. After all, it is simply about a football team celebrating a national title. But in the larger scope of things, it comes off as allegorical to the state of politics, class, American culture, and everything in between.

In some ways I’m glad this happened, not just for the memes, but because in the middle of government chaos there is finally something we don’t have to freak out over, and we can all eat our fries out of the bag in peace.