Donald Trump has put his name on a lot of things — buildings, casinos, vodka, even a fragrance by Estée Lauder —but one of the most memorable was Trump Steaks. While plenty of president’s have specific steak orders, Trump’s relationship to his favorite cuts of beef has been well documented and full of controversy. It’s his penchant for ordering steaks well done, even juicer cuts like ribeye, that has attracted ridicule from steak lovers. But the personal tastes of the 47th (and 45th) president aren’t the only steak controversy he’s had. There was also the baffling story of his short-lived Trump Steaks brand, which he of course claimed were the best in the world.
Now long gone, it’s hard to say how good or bad these steaks actually were, but they did have the benefit of being genuine USDA-grade prime beef. Launched in 2007, the Trump Steaks label also sold burgers and sausages, but the main attraction was the classic luxury cuts like filet mignon and bone-in ribeye. The supplier, an Atlanta-based Sysco subsidiary named Buckland Beef, was a legit source who also supplied many of Trump’s hotels and casinos. So while “the world’s greatest steaks” was undoubtedly a sales pitch, it’s a good bet the prime beef steaks were at least pretty good. But you wouldn’t have gotten much of a chance to find out because Trump Steaks only existed for a few months before disappearing.
Trump Steaks were USDA prime grade and ordered via catalog
The short-lived Trump Steaks may have been USDA prime, but they were otherwise a source of ridicule even at release. Part of this was the unusual nature of the partnership Trump made to sell his name-brand steaks. Instead of selling them directly like Omaha Steaks, or through his own existing businesses, Trump Steaks were sold through The Sharper Image catalog and website, as well as the home shopping network QVC. That’s right, brands that were best known for selling massage chairs, dubious health products, and the Shake Weight (remember 2009?) were tapped to sell the self-declared best steaks in the world. Needless to say, people were skeptical of buying meat with a real-estate mogul’s name on it through retailers that were already punchlines. Trump steaks were ridiculed on shows like “Saturday Night Live,” and they stopped being sold after less than two months.
That wasn’t the end of the Trump Steaks saga, as the name resurfaced during the 2016 election. After fellow candidate Mitt Romney questioned Trump’s business skills, citing Trump Steaks as a prominent failure, the eventual president claimed he was still selling Trump-brand steaks, even displaying some alongside other Trump products. This caused a stir when people noticed the branding for an entirely different company, Bush Brothers Provision, on the steak’s packaging, and reporters discovered even the trademark for Trump Steak had lapsed. A fittingly odd final note for one of the more quixotic food ventures in recent history.
