Restaurant hit with one-star reviews following controversial Donald Trump visit
Topics: US Food, Restaurants and bars
The FOODbible Team
Featured Image Credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images
Topics: US Food, Restaurants and bars
Protestors have targeted a Washington restaurant with bad reviews online after Donald Trump dined there.
The US president visited Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak and Stone Crab with Vice President JD Vance on September 9, as well as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Trump's visit to the restaurant has caused a stir on social media after a group of activists met the party outside to protest the president's refusal to condemn Israel's genocide attempt in Gaza, as well as his administration's aggressive use of ICE to detain and deport people.
The incident escalated when some activists followed the presidential party inside the restaurant, where video shows them chanting 'free D.C., free Palestine, Trump is the Hitler of our time,' before being removed by security.
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Activists have since moved their efforts online and flooded the restaurant's pages with bad reviews after the far-right president and members of his inner circle dined there.
People have begun 'review bombing' the restaurant chain with one-star reviews over its allowing Trump to eat there, as well as the ejection of the protestors.
One commenter went all out, alluding to Trump's heavy use of orange foundation as well as a recently emerged birthday card he sent to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, which was released in Epstein's 'birthday book'.
The Daily Beast reported that they posted to the restaurant's profile on Google reviews: "Honestly kinda weird. There was someone very loud and was the colour of orange?
"That wasn’t the craziest bit though, it was that the man kept doodling little girls on the menu.
"Like a large amount of this from someone with small hands. Then the group that was with him just ignored this and said it was a hoax."
They added: "Tried to go to the bathroom and some drunk challenged me to push-ups before swearing and running off to his phone about a bombing? Hope it wasn’t the janitor. Pete was his name?"
One visitor expressed their frustration at Trump visiting a few days after they did.
"Had a great experience and food was delicious but glad I showed up days before Trump did," they wrote. "Had I known this place was going to accept racist anti-Americans like Trump inside, I would have never spent my money."
And that wasn't it, with another writing that the restaurant 'caters to a fascist President and his regime', while another wrote: "I prefer my seafood without the fascism."
Meanwhile a third was more direct, simply writing: "You guys suck!!!"
One person poked fun at Trump's known habit of putting ketchup on steaks, writing: "Steak was so bad someone at another table dumped ketchup all over it."
The protest in the viral clip has since been claimed by activist group Code Pink, who said in a statement: "They feast while Gaza starves. Trump is the Hitler of our time.
"Free DC. Free Palestine! Stop terrorising communities all over the world!!"
Words by Kit Roberts