Virginia Weaver, Senior Staff Writer  

Microwaved Beef is a column by Virginia Weaver that reflects on flashpoints from the last few years in the culture wars. The rapid pace of contemporary discourse makes it easy to forget critical moments and trends that have defined our social and academic lives. Microwaved Beef brings those moments back into the spotlight. 

On April 13, 2026, President Donald Trump accepted a DoorDash delivery of McDonald’s at the White House. The video of this stunt went viral and the Internet quickly dubbed the delivery driver, an Arkansas grandmother of 10, DoorDash Grandma. The press soon learned that her real name is Sharon Simmons. Although DoorDash has made it clear that Simmons is a real driver for their company, not a prop, culture critics immediately expressed skepticism toward numerous elements of the stunt. 

Simmons’s employment as a DoorDash driver—a tipped worker—made her perfect for the stunt, which was coordinated to celebrate the No Tax on Tips policy, a provision of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed by President Trump in July 2025. In the live video of Simmons’s arrival at the White House, President Trump claims he had heard that Simmons had saved $11,000 due to the No Tax on Tips provision, which she confirms. President Trump asks: “So the reason for this is the fact that I heard you picked up an extra $11,000 because the tax bill was so big, the refund was the biggest you’ve ever had. Is that a correct statement?”  

Simmons responds: “It was, yeah, I saved over $11,000 by not having to claim.” This statement has been challenged by critics such as Matt Bernstein, who pointed out that under No Tax on Tips, Simmons still had to claim tips, and having $11,000 in tips deducted did not truly save her $11,000. She would have to make hundreds of thousands of dollars, which she does not, to approach that degree of actual savings. 

Critics’ complaints about the DoorDash stunt were not confined to mathematics. Many have pointed out that the stunt is obviously staged. Given that she resides in Arkansas, Simmons had to be flown to Washington, D.C., to participate in the publicity stunt. She was no random DoorDash delivery driver in the D.C. area. However, even President Trump agreed with this criticism from the start, joking to the press who were present for the stunt: “This doesn’t look staged, does it?” A spokesman for DoorDash later clarified: 

“No one is claiming it was a real delivery. It was clearly and obviously a planned event to mark a new policy starting. To claim Sharon is a prop, plant or an actor is totally wrong and off base. She is a Dasher and she participated to support the policy that benefits her[.]” 

However, eagle-eyed skeptics noted further that Simmons had appeared at other Republican events to promote the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Speaking at a Ways and Means Committee hearing in 2025, Simmons claimed that the Bill would allow her to spend more time at home and to save more money for her ailing husband’s expensive medical treatments. Whether Simmons was chosen by DoorDash to make the delivery to the White House due to her past involvement in advocacy for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act remains unclear.  

After receiving the delivery, President Trump stood next to Simmons for a press conference. Midway through the conference, President Trump argues that the Democratic Party has to “cheat” to win elections because of its inferior policies. He lists a few unpopular policies associated with Democratic politicians, such as the inclusion of trans women in women’s sports. At this moment, President Trump turns to Simmons and asks: “Do you think that men should play in women’s sports?” 

Simmons fails or refuses to enable the President’s rhetorical momentum, replying, “I really don’t have an opinion on that… I’m here about No Tax on Tips.” Whether the stunt has persuaded anyone to favor the policy remains to be seen.