President Donald Trump and his Cabinet members face a backlash for having a leisurely surf and turf dinner while Russia dramatically escalated its war in Ukraine by entering Polish airspace.
In a move that Poland’s military described as an “unprecedented” act of provocation, at least 19 Russian drones entered the country over several hours, prompting NATO allies to scramble fighter jets to shoot them down.
World leaders widely condemned the move, while Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk told his parliament that this was “the closest we have been to open conflict since World War Two.”
Trump, however, has come under fire for his muted response to Russia’s latest display of aggression, which began around 6 pm Eastern Standard Time, just as he was preparing to dine at a fancy D.C. steakhouse with Vice President JD Vance, “War” Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“Trump, Hegseth, Rubio left the restaurant over 2 hours after reports of drones in Poland and NATO scrambling jets,” Centre for European Policy Analysis senior fellow Olga Lautman posted on X, alongside a 10.25 pm video of the group leaving Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab.
Trump, Hegseth, Rubio left the restaurant over 2 hours after reports of drones in Poland and NATO scrambling jets. Imagine any other president or defense secretary doing this https://t.co/A6Nw6B7a2s
— Olga Lautman 🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@OlgaNYC1211) September 10, 2025
“Imagine any other president or defense secretary doing this.”
“Someone would have told him earlier but his Sec of State and Sec of Defense were eating out with him, rather than getting briefed on a massive geopolitical threat,” Julie Roginsky, the co-founder of Lift Our Voices, wrote on X.
And South Carolina Republican Joe Wilson hit out at Putin, describing the incursion into Poland as an “act of war,” less than a week after Trump hosted Polish president Karol Nowrocki in the White House.
“I urge President Trump to respond with mandatory sanctions that will bankrupt the Russian war machine and arm Ukraine with weapons capable of striking Russia,” Wilson said.
Trump’s outing to Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab—merely 200 metres from the White House—was designed to tout how safe D.C. had become since his crime crackdown began one month ago.
But while the president was met with applause from some diners, he was also confronted by protesters in the restaurant, chanting: “Free DC, free Palestine, Trump is the Hitler of our time.”
Trump and his team nonetheless had what press secretary Karoline Leavitt later described as a “phenomenal” meal consisting of crab, shrimp, and steak, otherwise known as surf and turf, plus salad and dessert.
However, the optics were not lost on those who believe Russian President Vladimir Putin is “playing” the U.S., weeks after Trump rolled out the red carpet for Putin in Alaska, believing a peace deal was imminent.
“Putin is slicing salami and watching for reaction—first and foremost from Trump,” said Ukrainian blogger Roman Shrayk, who suggested the drone violation may have been a “provocative attack” to test NATO.
Trump’s weakness is emboldening Putin,” Republicans against Trump wrote on X.
Rubio told CNN he had been briefed on reports of Russian drones over Poland as he left the dinner on Tuesday night.
However, the president said little about the matter until 10 am on Wednesday, when he put out a short social media post that said: “What’s with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones? Here we go!”
He was expected to speak to his Polish counterpart today.
In a statement, Russia’s military said it had conducted “a mass strike” on military-industrial targets in Western Ukraine, but “there had been no plans to target facilities on the territory of Poland.”
But Poland said it shot down suspected Russian drones with the backing of military aircraft from its NATO allies, the first time a member of the alliance is known to have fired shots since Putin invaded Ukraine.
It also invoked Article 4 of the NATO treaty, a rarely used mechanism that prompts a formal discussion within the alliance when a member is under threat.
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