Ever wondered what newspaper tastes like?
Dana Milbank, an op-ed columnist for The Washington Post, wrote an article in October 2015 of his emphatic conviction that Donald J. Trump would not secure the Republican candidacy for president, a conviction he shared with Mitt Romney.
With that idea underpinning his sentiments, Milbank made the then-not-so-bold promise to eat his words if Trump secured the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.
“The day Trump clinches the nomination I will eat the page on which this column is printed in Sunday’s Post.” wrote Milbank some seven months before the last of Trump’s competitors emotionally hung up his hat.
Clockwise from upper left: grilled, julienne, beer-soaked, brunoise and pickled newspaper. pic.twitter.com/joJIB31Oud
— Dana Milbank (@Milbank) May 12, 2016
It seems Milbank was serious, because on May 12, a week after Trump became the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, Milbank indeed ate the newspaper on which his words were printed.
In a Facebook Live event, Milbank ate an eight course meal where each dish consisted of—at least in part—the Oct. 4, 2015 newspaper on which his column was printed.
L-R: Tavis Smiley, Arianna Huffington, Dana Milbank and Dr. Cornel West on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2011 in Washington. (AP Photo/Earl Gibson III)Chef Victor Albisu—owner of Del Campo restaurant in Washington, D.C.—cooked Milbank and the Post’s food critic, Tom Sietsema, a variety of Trump-themed dishes.
It included a take on McDonald’s Filet o’ Fish—the business mogul’s favorite dish from his favorite restaurant—wrapped in newspaper, battered and then fried and served with a newspaper tartare sauce.
At the end of the meal, Milbank and Sietsema sipped Cafe Bustelo coffee filtered through Milbank’s column.
To wash down the newsprint. pic.twitter.com/xuQrW5MruG
— Dana Milbank (@Milbank) May 11, 2016
The feast would not have been complete without a couple of bottles of Trump’s signature wines with which to wash down the inky pulp.
You can live vicariously through Milbank by watching the whole 75-minute ordeal below.
