Latest news with #pro-DonaldTrump
Newsweek
3 days ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
'Trump Burger' Gets Scathing Reviews From Food Critics: 'Bland'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A new Trump Burger restaurant that opened in Houston, Texas, this month has been panned by food critics, one reviewer describing its burgers as "consistent in blandness." The pro-Donald Trump chain has been praised by some customers online, one saying it had "amazing food," another that its burgers were "really really good." Newsweek contacted Trump Burger for comment on Friday outside of regular office hours via email. Why It Matters President Trump remains popular with Republican voters 50 percent of whom identify as part of his Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement according to a recent YouGov/The Economist poll. Conservative dissatisfaction with mainstream brands has led to the launch of a series of partisan products including 'Ultra Right' beer, created in response to Bud Light's relationship with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. What To Know On May 9, Trump Burger opened a new outlet in Houston, adding to restaurants in Bellville, Flatonia and Kemah. The chain, founded by Lebanese immigrant Roland Beainy, is branded around Trump with its restaurants featuring pictures and cutouts of the president along with his campaign material. Its menu includes the 8oz Trump Cheeseburger and the 16oz Trump Tower, both with fries, lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles and Trump Sauce. A burger at Trump Burger restaurant, in Bellville, Texas, on April 19, 2025. A burger at Trump Burger restaurant, in Bellville, Texas, on April 19, 2025. RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP/GETTY A Biden Burger is also jokingly listed, which consists of "1 oz. beef, topped with tomato lettuce (not fresh) and our old buns." This satirical product is priced at $50.99 and marked as "not available for cheating reasons." On Thursday the Houston Chronicle published a review of Trump Burger from Yi-Chin Lee, based on visits to its Houston and Kemah restaurants. Lee said the chain's burgers were "consistent in blandness" describing one as "like one a cargo-short-wearing dad might serve when he's cosplaying a Food Network grill master once a year for a holiday picnic." He added: "It's missing the craggy edges which tells you the meat hasn't been on a hot grill for just enough time to develop that beefy flavor. There's no trace of char or smoke. Each bite doesn't leave you wanting more because there's no juiciness, and a slice of American cheese is barely melted." Referring to the fries, Lee said: "The regular and sweet potato fries arrived hot and crisp on the exterior, but they were either soggy inside or oversalted. I've watched the kitchen pull frozen fries from a brown bag, too. Onion rings also lacked that contrast between a well-fried exterior and tender sweetness of an allium." However he described the First Lady Chicken Sandwich, a tribute to Melania Trump, as "better than the burger, with a nicely grilled, not-too-dry chicken breast draped with two slices of American cheese." A review of the chain was also published on May 15 by Eater Houston, a food review website focused around the Texan city. Author Brittany Britto Garley, who visited multiple Trump Burger branches, concluded: "The chargrilled burger patties are thick but bland, topped with a waxy cheese that lacks any memorable flavor. The fries are crisp, and the meals affordable, clocking in at around the same price as you can get a burger and fries at another, arguably better, burger joint." People visit and dine at the Trump Burger restaurant in Bellville, Texas, on April 19, 2025. People visit and dine at the Trump Burger restaurant in Bellville, Texas, on April 19, 2025. RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP/GETTY Referring to the atmosphere at one outlet Garley said: "As I walked in on a recent Sunday, the tension, likely combined with our nervousness, felt palpable. Here, the vibe wasn't festive—it was stiff, uncertain, and uncomfortable, particularly for me, a woman of color. The other diners present avoided eye contact." However the Trump Burger branch in Bellville had a positive, 4.4 stars out of five, rating on Google reviews, based on 1,509 customer ratings. Dave Fredrick, a customer, gave five stars and wrote: "Amazing food. 10/10 will eat here again for absolute pleasure. My burger was made perfectly and so was my spouse['s] burger. I have to say it was close to being the best mushroom and Swiss I've had in a long time!!! Definitely recommend this place!!" Maureen Guzman also gave five stars adding: "Small town patriotic vibes at Trump Cafe! It didn't disappoint. Burgers were really really good! Will go back next time we are in Bellville." Victoria Ramos was more critical, only giving three stars out of five. She said: "My family and I visited around 2:30 on a Saturday afternoon and it was moderately busy. Definitely a novelty kind of establishment as I don't feel the need to return, but wouldn't object to another try at a later time." In a January 2024 article for review website UponArriving, former Trump Burger customer Daniel Gillaspia said: "The veggies on the burger appeared fresh, although the patty didn't quite match my personal taste. It had a reminiscent quality of those cafeteria-style patties—not terrible, just not the kind that leaves you with amazement. "On the flip side, the fries were a highlight, boasting a nice and crispy texture. All in all, I'd categorize the food as decent, falling in line with your typical burger joint fare." What Happens Next It remains to be seen whether Trump Burger will continue to expand and to what extent its fortune will be tied to the political trials and tribulations of its presidential namesake.
India Today
3 days ago
- Business
- India Today
Mark Zuckerberg and his former employee Palmer Luckey join hands to make gadgets for military
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is partnering with his former employee Palmer Luckey to make combat VR headsets for the military. This is interesting for more reasons than one. Of course, it is notable that Meta is using its AI tech to power wearables for military equipment. 'Meta has spent the last decade building AI and AR to enable the computing platform of the future,' said Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Meta. 'We're proud to partner with Anduril to help bring these technologies to the American service members that protect our interests at home and abroad.'advertisement'Anduril and Meta are partnering to design, build, and field a range of integrated XR products that provide warfighters with enhanced perception and enable intuitive control of autonomous platforms on the battlefield,' Anduril writes in an announcement post. However, here is what is more interesting: Zuckerberg and Luckey's history. They had a somewhat messy breakup back in 2016. Palmer Luckey, who is the founder of Oculus VR and the designer of Oculus Rift, was fired from Meta nine years ago for donating $10,000 to a pro-Donald Trump group that had run a billboard criticising Hillary Clinton. 'I am glad to be working with Meta once again.' said Palmer Luckey, Founder of Anduril. 'Of all the areas where dual-use technology can make a difference for America, this is the one I am most excited about. My mission has long been to turn warfighters into technomancers, and the products we are building with Meta do just that.'advertisement Luckey's Anduril Industries and Meta will be making rugged helmets, glasses and other wearables for the US military. These wearables will provide a virtual-reality or augmented-reality experience. Anduril and Meta's project together is reportedly being called EagleEye, which will eventually form a full ecosystem of hardware devices, according to TechCrunch. Interestingly, EagleEye was originally the name of a headset concept Palmer Luckey had included in Anduril's early pitch deck. At the time, investors urged him to shift focus away from hardware and concentrate on building software first. 'All of them had worked with me for years via Oculus VR, and when they saw the EagleEye headset in our first Anduril pitch deck draft, they pointed out that it seemed like I was sequencing things irrationally,' Luckey explained in a post on X earlier this year. 'They believed, correctly, that I was too focused on winning a pissing contest over the future of AR/VR, on proving that I was right and the people who fired me were wrong.'Following the announcement of the Meta-Anduril partnership on Thursday, Luckey reflected on the collaboration with another post on X: 'It is pretty cool to have everything at our fingertips for this joint effort – everything I made before Meta acquired Oculus, everything we made together, and everything we did on our own after I was fired.'advertisementA year after Luckey was fired from Meta, he co-founded Anduril Industries in 2017. The company specialises in American defense technology. It specifically makes autonomous systems for the has lately been trying to build a closer relationship with Donald Trump. He has reportedly also been leaning on Trump for favours. Reportedly, just ahead of the ongoing Meta vs FTC trial kicked off, Zuckerberg had requested Trump to step in and help block the monopoly lawsuit. Meta also contributed $1 million to Trump's inauguration and also resolved Trump's $25 million lawsuit.
CNBC
4 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Meta and Anduril defense startup partner on VR, AR project intended for U.S. Army
Meta and Anduril, the defense-tech startup founded by Palmer Luckey, announced Thursday that they've formed a partnership to create virtual and augmented reality devices intended for use by the U.S. army. The partnership represents a major step by Meta to supply cutting-edge technology to the government in addition to working once again with Luckey, who sold his Oculus VR startup to the social media company for $2 billion in 2014. Luckey and Meta had an acrimonious split, with the Anduril founder telling CNBC in 2019 that he "got fired" from the company formerly known as Facebook "for no reason at all," suggesting that a $10,000 donation to a pro-Donald Trump group ahead of the 2016 U.S. election could have contributed to the decision. With Trump winning the U.S. presidency in November for the second time, Zuckerberg and other tech executives have since courted favor with the White House by making sweeping policy changes like relaxing content-moderation guidelines. Meta has also been pitching its open-source Llama family of AI models to government agencies and in November said it would make the those tools available to government units "working on defense and national security applications, and private sector partners supporting their work." "Meta has spent the last decade building AI and AR to enable the computing platform of the future," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement. "We're proud to partner with Anduril to help bring these technologies to the American service members that protect our interests at home and abroad." In February, Anduril and Microsoft said that the defense tech startup would take over the enterprise giant's AR headset program with the U.S. army. Meta and Anduril have placed a joint bid on an Army contract for VR devices that is worth up to $100 million, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. The two companies are working on EagleEye, a system that carries sensors that enhance soldiers' hearing and vision, according to the report. Meta and Anduril will move forward on their partnership whether or not they win the Army contract, per the Journal. The two companies pitched their partnership as helping the U.S. maintain a "technical edge" while aiding national security and saving the military "billions of dollars by utilizing high-performance components and technology originally built for commercial use." "I am glad to be working with Meta once again." Luckey said in a statement. "Of all the areas where dual-use technology can make a difference for America, this is the one I am most excited about." Anduril also announced in December that it partnered with OpenAI on an artificial-intelligence initiative related to "national security missions."
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
See ex-Capitol officer's reaction to the Trump administration's $5 million settlement
The Trump administration has agreed to pay nearly $5 million to the family of Ashli Babbitt, a pro-Donald Trump rioter who was shot and killed after breaching the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, according to a person familiar with the matter. The settlement, once approved in court, will end a $30 million wrongful death lawsuit filed by Babbitt's family. Capitol police officer Harry Dunn talked about the reported settlement with CNN's Abby Phillip.
CNN
20-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
See ex-Capitol officer's reaction to the Trump administration's $5 million settlement
The Trump administration has agreed to pay nearly $5 million to the family of Ashli Babbitt, a pro-Donald Trump rioter who was shot and killed after breaching the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, according to a person familiar with the matter. The settlement, once approved in court, will end a $30 million wrongful death lawsuit filed by Babbitt's family. Capitol police officer Harry Dunn talked about the reported settlement with CNN's Abby Phillip.
