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Trump’s love of McDonald’s meals has been documented for years. Jared Kushner wrote that Trump’s regular order included “a McDonald’s Big Mac, Filet-o-Fish, fries and a vanilla shake.” Former campaign officials described an even larger version of the order in their 2017 book that featured two Big Macs two Filet O Fish sandwiches and a chocolate malted shake. Trump has never hidden the fact that he is probably the most famous McDonald’s loyal customer on the planet.
He even took a jab at Kamala Harris at the summit. He joked that he was “the very first former McDonald’s fry cook ever to become President of the United States” referring to his well known 2024 campaign stop at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s. Trump then delivered the punchline. “And I actually was there for about 30 minutes, and that was 30 minutes longer than Kamala was there, despite her job at McDonald’s.” The crowd roared. Trump knows exactly how to read a room.
The affordability message that has Democrats sweating
The Filet O Fish jokes were the hook but Trump quickly pivoted to the topic he wants dominating the 2026 midterms. The theme is affordability and he wasted no time laying out numbers that will rattle his opponents.
“In the past six months, the price of breakfast items has fallen 14 percent,” Trump said. “Bread prices are down, dairy prices are down, and the price of eggs has declined 86 percent since March.”
He then thanked McDonald’s for cutting prices on popular menu items and said the company is helping lead the charge in getting America’s cost of living under control.
Trump pointed to repeated stock market highs as evidence that his economic agenda is already paying off. He described himself as one of McDonald’s “all time most loyal customers” and reminded the audience that Trump Force One ran “only McDonald’s almost every time” during the campaign. In another lighthearted moment he said he even convinced HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to try a Big Mac. “He told me he loved it.”
But the bigger story is Trump’s aggressive push to frame himself as the man who rescued Americans from Biden era inflation. The White House announced that Trump will soon travel the country on an economic tour focused entirely on affordability. Officials say lowering the cost of living is the administration’s top priority heading into the midterms.
Egg prices are Trump’s favorite example. Under Biden families watched the cost of a simple breakfast staple skyrocket. Trump’s USDA implemented tougher farm protections helped producers hit by flock losses and temporarily eased import restrictions. The results were dramatic. Egg prices collapsed by 86 percent since March. For working families that is not a statistic. It is immediate relief.
Rep. Elise Stefanik echoed the same theme while launching her gubernatorial bid. She said “Every conversation with voters is about the high taxes and spending, the unaffordability.” She is betting her campaign on the idea that Trump’s affordability message is a winning one. She is not alone.
With interest rates moving downward and Trump pushing tax cuts on tips and overtime Republicans are preparing to run as the party that is giving money back to the people who need it most. Democrats hoped rising prices would turn into their advantage for 2026. Instead Trump is using the issue to hammer them.
A Filet O Fish moment turns into a 2026 strategy preview
The brilliance of Trump’s appearance was how effortlessly he blended humor with hard hitting economic messaging. A quick joke about extra tartar sauce turned into a serious argument about cost of living pressures that Americans feel every single day.
When he tells franchise owners that breakfast prices are down 14 percent and egg prices are down 86 percent he is not making small talk. He is test driving the message Republicans intend to run on.
If the numbers continue moving in Trump’s direction Democrats will have a nearly impossible time persuading voters that they are the party of affordability. Trump is already proving otherwise.
And all it took was a Filet O Fish.
