Politically themed cocktails have become a staple of DC life. Over the years, drink specials have popped up for Congressional hearings, House Speaker races, and government shutdowns. One bar offered discounted drinks every time Donald Trump fired someone from the White House during his first term. When he was indicted on felony charges, another spot served “Dark N’ Stormy Daniels” and “IndictMINT Juleps.”
But since Trump returned to the White House, this only-in-DC phenomenon seems to be nowhere in DC. Did the political cocktail quietly die?
“The drink specials are supposed to be funny and cheeky. You know, ‘If you’re a government employee, you’re getting screwed by the government, come get screwdrivers,’ stuff like that. We’re in a place now where it’s dangerous and violent,” says one bar owner, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of threats and retaliation. The last time his business did drink specials—related to Trump’s felony charges—they received “very violent” threatening emails from MAGA supporters, he says.
The bar owner points to the protesters who confronted Trump during his recent dinner at Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak, and Stone Crab. “He thinks he can throw them in jail for yelling at him. There’s no guardrails now,” he says. “Of course I could come up with a thousand drink specials right now that made fun of him. But I don’t want that smoke.”
At the Green Zone, a Middle Eastern-inspired cocktail bar in Adams Morgan, the “Fuck Trump! Punch” has been a menu staple since it opened in 2018. But earlier this year, owner Chris Hassan Francke changed the name to “Fuck This! Punch.”
“Things are a lot more serious this time around, and I don’t want my staff getting doxxed or, God forbid, physical harm coming to them,” Francke says. “I’ve been pretty defiant of authorities and all that kind of stuff, but the threat has never felt as tangible as it has since January, February.”
Nonetheless, the Green Zone’s menu still includes “Fuck Trump! Punch” in the Arabic translation of the cocktail name. The drink description also provides a hint: “Welcome to Hellworld! Hold on tight!” If anything, Francke says the rum cocktail has only gotten more popular since Trump came back to town: “I think most of the people who come to the Green Zone feel the same way I feel.”
Union Pub is another bar known for its political drink specials—like “Lemon Drop-Out Shots” when Joe Biden exited the presidential race or debate night watch parties that rival the Super Bowl. Meanwhile, its sister Capitol Hill bar, Barrel, was behind some of DC’s edgiest political pop-ups, including one in 2017 that was Russia-Trump themed with “Moscow Moles.” But there’s been none of that since the 2025 inauguration.
Owner Matt Weiss says it’s not that they’re actively avoiding politics or won’t bring back similar specials in the future. “We just haven’t really been thinking about it,” he says. “Maybe there’s part of us that’s just turned off to the whole thing. It’s been rough for restaurants, especially in DC, for five plus years. And I just want to get back to restaurant problems.”
The group’s Director of Operations Dara Dike suggests that customers are feeling the same fatigue: “They are looking for some good wings and a cold beer and to kind of check out and just have a fun time. Even if there was something that we could play off of or have a silly cocktail about, it’s not something people are looking for right now. They want to come in and watch a football game.”
Jessica Sidman covers the people and trends behind D.C.’s food and drink scene. Before joining Washingtonian in July 2016, she was Food Editor and Young & Hungry columnist at Washington City Paper. She is a Colorado native and University of Pennsylvania grad.
