Cinco de Mayo, an annual celebration held May 5, brings one particular memory to mind when thinking about President Donald Trump: his tweet about taco bowls and the Trump Tower Grill.
In 2016, apparently to recognize Cinco de Mayo, the then-Republican presidential candidate tweeted a photograph of himself enjoying a taco bowl. The president even re-upped his tweet in 2020, tweeting “Remember this? Happy #CincoDeMayo!” on Tuesday.
“Happy #CincoDeMayo! The best taco bowls are made in Trump Tower Grill. I love Hispanics!” Trump’s 2016 tweet reads, as the photo shows him grinning and giving a thumbs up to the camera.
Remember this? Happy #CincoDeMayo! https://t.co/1jDZHNTHHj
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 5, 2020
The tweet drew some very conflicting responses and many in the media did not appear to be happy with it. The Chicago Tribune noted that Trump’s tweet drew the “ire of some Latinos,” while others simply poked fun at the photograph.
TPUSA’s Benny Johnson said at the time that Trump appeared to be eating the “taco salad” on top of “a bikini-clad photo of his ex-wife, Marla Maples.”
Donald Trump is eating a taco salad on top of a bikini-clad photo of his ex-wife, Marla Maples. pic.twitter.com/sW2itGBAOK
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) May 5, 2016
The Cut described it as “offensive” and Business Insider even published a less-than-stellar review of said taco bowl one year later. The article called the guacamole “bland and goopy” and referred to the ground beef as “tolerable, but underseasoned.”
“After insulting and demeaning Mexican people for months and threatening to build an even bigger wall along their border with the US, Trump has come to realize that in order to defeat Hillary Clinton in November, he has to get Hispanic people to at least consider the possibility that he doesn’t despise them,” The Guardian wrote. “This led him to disreputable pandering – such as his recent decision to pose for a photo-op with a taco bowl.”