Trump ‘needed Diet Coke opened in front of him’, say hotel staff

President Donald Trump needed his diet coke opened up before his eyes when dining at his D.C. hotel while first lady Melania Trump would send back her dinner if it had garnishes on it.

President Donald Trump needed his diet coke opened up before his eyes when dining at his D.C. hotel – above he drinks a soda during a toast at a state banquet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2017f

The details about the needs of the former first couple and their A-list Republican friends appears in a new article in Washingtonian magazine, which spoke to former staff at the Trump International Hotel in Washington D.C. about what happened when the president came to dinner. 

Trump rarely went out anywhere in the nation’s Capitol except his namesake hotel, which sat about five blocks from the White House

And he always sat at Table 72 – a round booth in the middle of the Trump Hotel’s mezzanine, which was in the center of the action and impossible to miss.

The table was always waiting on the president even if that meant it sat empty night after night should Trump not appear. 

A ‘Standard Operating Procedure’ document, obtained by Washingtonian, outlined step by step what should happen when Trump dined at BLT Prime, the hotel’s restaurant.

Trump’s requirements, as outlined by the magazine: 

  • As soon as Trump was seated, the server was to ‘discreetly present’ a mini bottle of Purell hand sanitizer – even pre-COVID. Trump is a known germaphobe. 
  • Then, the server had to say: ‘Good (time of day) Mr. President. Would you like your Diet Coke with or without ice?’ 
  • The details on pouring the soda were seven steps long and illustrated with four photos. 
  • The diet coke had to be opened in front of Trump and ‘never beforehand.’ 
  • The server was to hold a longneck-bottle opener by the lower third of the handle in one hand and the Diet Coke, also by the lower third, in the other. 
  • The drink was to be placed at Trump’s right-hand side: ‘Repeat until POTUS departs.’ 
  • Trump always had the same thing to eat: shrimp cocktail, well-done steak, and fries (plus sometimes apple pie or chocolate cake for dessert). 
  • Popovers – a double serving – had to be served within two minutes and the crustaceans ‘immediately.’ 
  • The server had to open mini glass bottles of Heinz ketchup in front of Trump, taking care to ensure he could hear the seal make the ‘pop’ sound.
  • Additionally, a tray of junk food needed to be available for every Trump visit.
  • It was to contain: Lay’s potato chips (specifically, sour cream and onion), Milky Way, Snickers, Nature Valley Granola Bars, Tic Tacs, gummy bears, Chips Ahoy, Oreos, Nutter Butters, Tootsie Rolls, chocolate-covered raisins, and Pop-Secret.

Melania Trump also had her quirks, such as no garnishes. She once sent back a Dover sole because it was dressed with parsley and chives.

Trump wouldn’t sent back his food but once complained when a dining companion had a bigger steak than he did.  The restaurant ordered super-sized shrimp and a 40-ounce tomahawk for the then-president. 

And he was a heavy consumer of diet coke, drinking multiple glasses a day. He had a special button on the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office that he could press when he needed more soda.  

During the Trump administration, his hotel in downtown D.C. was the place to see and be seen for Republicans stars and MAGA fans.

Trump made $40.8 million in 2018 alone from his Washington property. The family faced criticism it was violating the emoluments clause of the Constitution by running the hotel while Trump sat in the Oval Office. The Trump Organization was trying to sell it in the final years of Trump’s presidency but many thought its $500 million price tag was overinflated. 

President-elect Donald Trump, with Kellyanne Conway, has a coke and diet coke in frotn of him at a 2016 meeting shortly after he won election - Trump drank several diet cokes a day

President-elect Donald Trump, with Kellyanne Conway, has a coke and diet coke in frotn of him at a 2016 meeting shortly after he won election – Trump drank several diet cokes a day

Hotel staff at the Trump International Hotel in Washington D.C. compiled documents on the needs of their high-profile guests, including the Trump family and bold-faced GOP names

Hotel staff at the Trump International Hotel in Washington D.C. compiled documents on the needs of their high-profile guests, including the Trump family and bold-faced GOP names

The BLT Prime restaurant at the Trump Hotel, one of the few places in DC where Trump would venture out to dine when he was president

The BLT Prime restaurant at the Trump Hotel, one of the few places in DC where Trump would venture out to dine when he was president

Lobbyists drank at the bar, Trump friends and family stayed there when in town, the Republican Party held fundraisers in its ballrooms, and journalists met with sources for an overpriced drink. 

And hotel staff were prepared for anyone bold-faced GOP name that may come their way.

Then-President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump leave the hotel in 2018 after dinner there - Melania once sent her fish back to the kitchen as it had garnish on it

Then-President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump leave the hotel in 2018 after dinner there – Melania once sent her fish back to the kitchen as it had garnish on it

‘Senators and cabinet members and all of their staffs and the President’s staff, important members of the Republican Party, megachurch pastors, MyPillow guy. He was a VIP, absolutely,’ former executive chef Shawn Matijevich told Washingtonian. ‘The hotel would print us a book every day, if they were staying at the hotel, and it would have their pictures and their name and their job title.’ 

And some Trump White House staff demanded to be treated like stars.

On one occasion, when the kitchen took forever with Hope Hicks’s order, she told the staff: don’t-you-know-who-I-am. The manager apologized profusely and then sent out a ‘dessert storm,’ including a crepe soufflé and a cheesecake lollipop tree. 

But the most notorious VIP was Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s private attorney who would camp out all day at a booth on the lower level of the restaurant. He did more work than eating so the staff made up a name plate that read ‘RUDOLPH W. GIULIANI PRIVATE OFFICE’ that they would place on it when he was there.

‘The biggest pain in my butt was Giuliani,’ a former manager at the hotel told the magazine. 

The Trump children were said to be low-key in their needs: Ivanka Trump once wore yoga pants and had a single margarita while Tiffany Trump often made reservations for brunch and never showed up

The Trump children were said to be low-key in their needs: Ivanka Trump once wore yoga pants and had a single margarita while Tiffany Trump often made reservations for brunch and never showed up

Rudy Giuliani, the president's person attorney, is seen in his regular booth at the Trump hotel in 2019 with businessman Lev Parnas

Rudy Giuliani, the president’s person attorney, is seen in his regular booth at the Trump hotel in 2019 with businessman Lev Parnas 

In contrast, the Trump children were described as low-key and polite.  

Former staff said the only salacious thing they could remember about Ivanka, who designed the hotel’s signature spa, was she once showed up in yoga pants and indulged in a single margarita.

‘They just came in, did their thing, and left,’ said former assistant general manager Alyssa O’Clock of the Trump kids. ‘Ivanka would sit with her back to the rest of the dining room. She didn’t really want to be seen there, necessarily.’

Tiffany also made occasional appearances when she attended Georgetown Law School but more often than not she would make reservations and then not show up. 

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