President Donald Trump ‘ordered’ from DoorDash and had a chance encounter with a DoorDasher. The worker believes she’s taking home $11,000 through Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill. It sells as a heartwarming story, but speculations have been raised about the delivery person being a paid actor.
“This doesn’t look staged, does it?” Trump commented as the DoorDasher, Sharon Simmons, handed him two bags of McDonald’s takeout.
Simmons is the first Dasher to deliver to the White House. DoorDash also praised the White House for its ‘No Tax on Tips’ policy, which is part of the OBBBA.
The president continued, “The reason for this is the fact that I heard you picked up an extra $11,000 that you didn’t get because the tax bill was so big, the refund was the biggest you ever had. Is that a correct statement?”
“I saved over $11,000 by not having to claim,” Simmons confirmed.
Trump claims that his bill helped Simmons save thousands, and that’s not even including her overtime. There have been numerous debates about the OBBBA, with one prominent criticism of the bill not being a “true” tax reform. Rather, detractors of the bill often cited OBBBA’s historically large cuts against social safety nets like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to partially compensate for the tax revenue lost.
Not to mention, the OBBBA also threatens to deepen the budget deficit. Critics argue that the bill threatens to add $4.2 trillion in national debt in the coming decade. But that’s a discussion best reserved for another story. Simmons, who appeared in the White House DoorDash stint, has appeared in other promotions for the OBBBA.
Who is Sharon Simmons?
According to DoorDash, Simmons is “a Dasher from Arkansas.” But in House testimony, Simmons claimed to be from Boulder City, Nevada. She also appeared before a Ways and Means Committee in Nevada to promote the OBBBA.
When asked by Rep. David Kustoff from Tennessee about the bill, Simmons claimed that it would be helpful for her financial situation. She also claimed to be working for DoorDash here, which is one consistent part of her story.
Was the DoorDash delivery merely a stunt? Social media thinks so, but in another video, Simmons was asked if she voted for Trump in the last election. While she confirmed she voted for Trump in the first election, she claims she was unable to in the last one because she “moved.” Therefore, it’s possible that she has somewhat of a public profile for organically campaigning for the OBBBA. Just because she was in two different states doesn’t mean that she was necessarily ‘paid’ to promote.
Nevertheless, social media has been accusatory against Simmons as a peddler of the Republican agenda. There’s not enough proof for her to be a PR operative. However, Rep. Melanie Stansbury raised the point that in her years of working for the White House, “there are no DoorDash deliveries to the West Wing.”
Even if Simmons isn’t paid, there’s definitely some staging involved in this case. A press conference followed after the stunt.
DoorDash grandma is a systemic failure
Relieving the middle class of burdensome taxes on their tips isn’t a point of contention. If done right, it would greatly improve people’s quality of life. But to see a lady of her age still has to participate in the gig economy to supplement her husband’s cancer treatment?
This is not a heartwarming story. It’s proof of the systemic failure of the American healthcare system.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
