A staged DoorDash delivery to the White House drew outsized attention in the US this week, and the episode also carried an Israeli angle: DoorDash is the parent company of Wolt, the delivery platform widely used in Israel.
DoorDash said Sharon Simmons, an Arkansas-based Dasher, completed the “first ever White House delivery” on Monday as part of a campaign marking the first anniversary of the “No Tax on Tips” policy. The company said Simmons, a grandmother of 10 who has completed more than 14,000 deliveries since 2022, represented drivers who had pushed to ensure gig workers were included in the law.
According to DoorDash, Simmons began working as a Dasher to support her family while keeping a flexible schedule. The company said its drivers had saved “hundreds of millions of dollars” since the policy took effect.
For Israeli readers, the story also points back to a familiar brand. DoorDash acquired Wolt in 2022. Wolt, founded in Finland and now operating under DoorDash ownership, has become one of Israel’s best-known delivery platforms.
Footage from the White House showed Simmons arriving in a red “DoorDash Grandma” shirt and handing over a McDonald’s order near the Oval Office, where US President Donald Trump turned the delivery into a press moment.
US media outlets quickly made clear that the event was not an ordinary drop-off. Reuters reported that Trump used the event to promote his tax policy on tips and handed Simmons what appeared to be a $100 bill after reporters asked whether White House staff tipped well. The Associated Press also described the appearance as a publicity event tied to Trump’s effort to sell the tax break ahead of Tax Day.
DoorDash leaned into that message. Max Rettig, the company’s global head of public policy, said the moment reflected the policy’s impact on millions of drivers and their families. The company presented the delivery as a celebration of a law it says helped workers keep more of their income.
Online reaction was far less friendly. After clips spread across X, critics accused the White House and DoorDash of staging a political photo op as though it were a normal delivery. Some questioned why cameras were already in place and whether the entire scene had been built for publicity.
DoorDash responded on social media through Julian Crowley, the company’s head of public affairs, who said “no one is claiming it was a real delivery” and argued that the event was an openly planned way to mark the policy. He also rejected claims that Simmons was an actor or plant, saying she was a real Dasher speaking in support of a law that benefited her.
The media scrutiny did not stop at the optics. PolitiFact reported that while the White House said millions of Americans had benefited from the no-tax-on-tips measure, Simmons’s suggestion that she had saved more than $11,000 was misleading. The outlet said she later clarified that $11,000 was the amount she earned in tips, not the amount she saved in taxes.