US eatery gets shout-out from Donald Trump over branded Trump burgers
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
A burger branded with the word “Trump” from Little Mike’s Hamburgers restaurant in Oklahoma city.
PHOTO: LITTLE MIKE'S HAMBURGERS/FACEBOOK
Follow topic:
When Mr Mike Laham decided to come up with a burger dedicated to Mr Donald Trump, he did not expect to get a shout-out from the American President.
Mr Laham runs Little Mike’s Hamburgers restaurant in Oklahoma city, which serves burgers, frankfurters and homemade chilli.
The staunch Trump supporter began branding the buns of his burgers with the words “Trump” and “Maga” (Make America Great Again) two years ago, which attracted a lot of customers.
According to The Oklahoman newspaper, more than 700 of those burgers were sold on Mr Trump’s inauguration day on Jan 20.
The Trump burger even caught the eye of Republican Senator James Lankford, who brought it to Mr Trump’s attention.
Predictably, Mr Trump had some words for Mr Laham.
“Hi, Mike. How you doing? It’s Donald Trump and I appreciate all your support. Your hamburgers look fantastic,” Mr Trump said in a video message, with Mr Lankford next to him and the senator’s wife Cindy standing behind him.
“Thank you very much, I appreciate all your support. When I’m out there, I’m stopping at your place,” added Mr Trump, who is known for his love for burgers.
The video was posted on Feb 10 on the restaurant’s TikTok page, and has garnered more than 396,000 views.
Mr Laham, who has run his business for 40 years, told local broadcaster Koco-TV that he was “floored” by Mr Trump’s message.
He said Mr Lankford had sent him a text message, asking him if he was sitting down.
“I texted back ‘yes’. And then he sent me the video. It’s unbelievable,” Mr Laham said.
When he first started to brand his burgers, Mr Laham knew that he would be putting his business on the line due to his political beliefs.
However, he said business has increased since the video was posted.
“We got a lot of new customers who said they saw the video and they just wanted to try it,” Mr Laham told The Oklahoman on Feb 13.
“They said ‘we’re for Trump and we wanted to come and eat with you’ and all that.”
However, if Mr Trump were to visit his restaurant, what kind of burger does he think the President will like?
“I think Trump is about my age, so he would want mustard, pickle and onion,” Mr Laham told Koco-TV.

