Trump Steaks is a discontinued brand of

steak A steak is a thick cut of meat generally sliced across the muscle fibers, sometimes including a bone. It is normally grilled or fried. Steak can be diced, cooked in sauce, such as in steak and kidney pie, or minced and formed into patti ...

and other meats that was owned by

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

. The brand was launched in 2007 and was exclusively sold through The Sharper Image and

QVC QVC (short for "Quality Value Convenience") is an American free-to-air television network, and flagship shopping channel specializing in televised home shopping, owned by Qurate Retail Group. Founded in 1986 by Joseph Segel in West Chester, Pen ...

. Trump Steaks failed to sell well through The Sharper Image, which discontinued sales of the product line after two months.

History

Donald Trump registered "Trump Steaks" as a U.S. trademark in August 2006. Trump Steaks were launched on May 8, 2007, exclusively through The Sharper Image's catalog, stores, and website as part of a three-month trial period. Later that month, Trump and some contestants from his

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...

series ''

The Apprentice ''The Apprentice'' is a reality talent game show franchise originally aired in 2004 in the United States. Created by U.S.-based British producer Mark Burnett, the show depicts contestants from around the country with various professional backg ...

'' attended an event at a

Rockefeller Plaza Rockefeller Center is a large complex consisting of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th Street and 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The 14 original Art Deco buildings, commissioned by the Rockefeller family, span th ...

Sharper Image store to promote the steaks. The meat was supplied by Buckhead Beef, an Atlanta-based company and subsidiary of

Sysco Sysco Corporation (short for Systems and Services Company) is an American multinational corporation involved in marketing and distributing food products, smallwares, kitchen equipment and tabletop items to restaurants, healthcare and education ...

. Buckhead Beef also supplied meat to many of Trump's hotel-casino properties. Burgers and sausages were also sold under the Trump Steaks name. The steaks were

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

Angus certified and came in four packages with prices ranging from $199 (with two bone-in rib-eyes, two filet mignons and 12 burgers), $349, $499, and $999, with the

tagline In entertainment, a tagline (alternatively spelled tag line) is a short text which serves to clarify a thought for, or is designed with a form of, dramatic effect. Many tagline slogans are reiterated phrases associated with an individual, s ...

of "The World's Greatest Steaks." A Trump Steak Gift Card was also sold at a cost of $1,037. Trump Steaks was featured in a May 2007 ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

'' episode that mocked the brand. Trump was featured on the June 2007 issue of the ''Sharper Image'' magazine to promote Trump Steaks. On June 5, 2007, Trump Steaks debuted on the

home shopping television channel, with Trump making an appearance on the network. Trump Steaks (16) 6oz Certified Angus Beef Steakburgers were sold by QVC. Trump Steaks were sold at The Sharper Image for two months before being discontinued. According to Sharper Image CEO Jerry W. Levin, "The net of all that was we literally sold almost no steaks, if we sold $50,000 of steaks grand total, I'd be surprised." Advertisements featuring Trump's photo attracted customers to buy other products at the store. Trump Steaks were discontinued at QVC around the same time as the Sharper Image discontinuation. The Trump Steaks trademark was canceled in December 2014 according to a trademark search through the

United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alex ...

2007 reception

The ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' conducted a

blind taste test In marketing, a blind taste test is often used as a tool for companies to compare their brand to another brand. For example, the Pepsi Challenge is a famous taste test that has been run by Pepsi since 1975. Additionally, taste tests are sometime ...

and compared Trump Steaks with mail-order porterhouses from

Peter Luger Steak House Peter Luger Steak House is a steakhouse located in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York City, with a second location in Great Neck, New York, on Long Island. It was named to the James Beard Foundation's list of "America's Classics" i ...

and three New York City establishments. Trump Steaks earned a rating of 7.5 out of 10 (with the high cost of Trump Steaks noted), losing to mail-order porterhouses from Peter Luger with a rating of 9.5, but a higher rating than the

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

butcher and the Ottomanelli Brothers. Tad's Steaks, a cheap steak cafeteria, received "This cow should be ashamed". The

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

and ''

The Oklahoman ''The Oklahoman'' is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma, United States, and is the only regional daily that covers the Greater Oklahoma City area. The Alliance for Audited Media (formerly Audit Bureau Circulation) lists it as the 59th large ...

'' wrote positive reviews of the steaks, but also noted the high price. ''

The Palm Beach Post ''The Palm Beach Post'' is an American daily newspaper serving Palm Beach County in South Florida, and parts of the Treasure Coast. On March 18, 2018, in a deal worth US$42.35 million, ''The Palm Beach Post'' and ''The Palm Beach Daily News'' ...

'' panelists best rated the Angus-certified and prime-graded bone-in rib-eye against choice-graded bone-in rib-eyes and prime-graded

Publix Publix Super Markets, Inc., commonly known as Publix, is an employee-owned American supermarket chain headquartered in Lakeland, Florida. Founded in 1930 by George W. Jenkins, Publix is a private corporation that is wholly owned by present and ...

, giving the steaks an "A" and writing "Trump isn't kidding. Our panelists could barely believe how flavorful and tender the bone-in rib-eye was." However, the high price of the steaks was also noted (the others were ). ''Gourmet'' magazine opined, "these steaks are wholly mediocre".

2016 U.S. presidential election

In August 2015, ''

TIME Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'' magazine included Trump Steaks on a list of Trump business failures. In December 2015, during the

2016 U.S. presidential campaign The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial United States presidential election, presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican Party (United States), Republican ticket of businessman Donald ...

, a Super PAC supporting

John Kasich John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician, author, and television news host who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001 and as the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, Kasic ...

produced an ad mocking Trump Steaks. On February 10, 2016, the '' New York Daily News'' included Trump Steaks on a list of Trump business failures. Steaks from West Palm Beach's Bush Brothers Provision Co. were on display at Trump's Florida news conference celebrating his latest primary victories on March 8, 2016 during which Trump claimed them to be "Trump Steaks". Trump-branded wine and water were also displayed, as an example of Trump's success in business. Observers there noted the Trump-named steaks were produced by a butcher in West Palm Beach. In March 2016, Vox noted that on QVC's website "reviews of Trump steaks were, um, mixed", with more than half of the reviews negative (1 star to 2 stars). In an interview with Anderson Cooper the following day, Trump said that he does not process the steaks but instead purchases them from local suppliers. the only place the steaks can still be purchased is at Trump's various properties.

References

External links

Official website
* - Commercial for The Sharper Image featuring

Trump Steaks
–

Google Trends Google Trends is a website by Google that analyzes the popularity of top web search query, search queries in Google Search across various regions and languages. The website uses graphs to compare the search volume of different queries over time. ...

{{Trump businesses Assets owned by the Trump Organization Brand name meats Steak Defunct manufacturing companies based in New York City American companies established in 2007 Food and drink companies established in 2007 Products introduced in 2007 Companies disestablished in 2014 2007 establishments in New York City 2014 disestablishments in New York (state) Defunct food and drink companies of the United States

History

2007 reception

2016 U.S. presidential election

See also

References

External links