--- title: Trump Feeds Football National Champions Fast Food description: The Clemson University football team was invited to the White House Monday and Trump fed the players a very nontraditional White House meal. canonical: https://time.com/5502838/trump-clemson-football/ author: Tara Law article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-01-15T01:42:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:06:15.400Z og:title: President Trump Feeds College Football National Champions 'Hamberders' and Twitter Can't Stomach It og:description: "We have some very large people that like eating. So I think we’re going to have a little fun" og:url: https://time.com/5502838/trump-clemson-football/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt239340ec30b7fdfa/6989433e97cdffece26b7261/fast-food-white-house.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Photo by Chris Kleponis - Pool/Getty Images og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump Feeds College Football National Champions 'Hamberders' and Twitter Can't Stomach It twitter:description: "We have some very large people that like eating. So I think we’re going to have a little fun" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt239340ec30b7fdfa/6989433e97cdffece26b7261/fast-food-white-house.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump Feeds College Football National Champions 'Hamberders' and Twitter Can't Stomach It > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. 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The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically.  by [Tara Law](https://time.com/author/tara-law/)  ## Tara Law Jan 15, 2019 1:42 AM UTC  WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 14: U.S. President Donald Trump presents fast food to be served to the Clemson Tigers in celebration of their national championship at the White House on January 14, 2019 in Washington, DC. Clemson won their second title in three years after beating Alabama 44-16 on January 7th. (Photo by Chris Kleponis - Pool/Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 14: U.S. President Donald Trump presents fast food to be served to the Clemson Tigers in celebration of their national championship at the White House on January 14, 2019 in Washington, DC. Clemson won their second title in three years after beating Alabama 44-16 on January 7th. (Photo by Chris Kleponis - Pool/Getty Images) U.S. President Donald Trump presents fast food to be served to the Clemson Tigers in celebration of their national championship at the White House on January 14, 2019 in Washington, DC. Clemson won their second title in three years after beating Alabama 44-16 on January 7th.  by [Tara Law](https://time.com/author/tara-law/)  ## Tara Law Jan 15, 2019 1:42 AM UTC The Clemson University football team was invited to the White House Monday to celebrate their College Football National Championship win in a scene that was also a feast for social media users. The South Carolina team, which defeated the University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide 44-16 on Jan. 7, was offered a candelabra-lit spread of takeout food from McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King and Domino’s. In a since-deleted tweet, the president boasted that the group was served 1,000 “hamberders” at the event that he paid for himself – a spelling error that immediately prompted online snickers. Meanwhile, aides said there were closer to 300 burgers at the event. The President reportedly paid for the food himself because many of the White House staff are furloughed due to the partial government shutdown, Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley told CNN in a statement. Trump, who has claimed to be a big fan of fast food himself, told reporters before the event, “We have some very large people that like eating. So I think we’re going to have a little fun.” Later, Twitter users had more than a little fun with the “hamberders” typo. > [](https://twitter.com/PadmaLakshmi/status/1085175508738981888) > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1085207864224960519) > [](https://twitter.com/BurgerKing/status/1085213382192627717) > [](https://twitter.com/ddale8/status/1085161986353229824) Some pointed out that nothing kept the fast food warm as it sat on the tables. While Trump’s critics implied that the junk food was a good metaphor for the President himself. “This is an incredible self-own for someone who aims to be worth $10 billion,” wrote user Judd Legum. > [](https://twitter.com/JuddLegum/status/1084956291896930307) > [](https://twitter.com/MatthewACherry/status/1084958845586202624) > [](https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/1084951068923125760) > [](https://twitter.com/JonathanOsman/status/1084958792792584193) The meal also caught the attention of former NFL running back Reggie Bush, who tweeted that the dinner was “disrespectful on so many levels.” > [](https://twitter.com/ReggieBush/status/1085038754673258498) In a video of the event, the players seem to be enjoying the food. One player loudly says that the food is “awesome.” “I thought it was a joke,” he adds. > [](https://twitter.com/DarrenMHaynes/status/1084958995025195008) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5502838/trump-clemson-football/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5502838/trump-clemson-football/"},"headline":"President Trump Feeds College Football National Champions 'Hamberders' and Twitter Can't Stomach It","datePublished":"2019-01-15T01:42:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:06:15.400Z","description":"\"We have some very large people that like eating. 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