Trump ignites fierce debate over Philly’s best cheesesteak as he posts beaming Air Force One snap

Donald Trump capped off a town hall broadcast in Philadelphia last night by uploading a celebratory snap to Instagram of him enjoying one of the city’s world-famous cheesesteak aboard Air Force One.

‘Great to be back in Philadelphia,’ Trump wrote accompanying the image of him beaming next a sandwiches after the ABC event Tuesday. ‘Thank you Pennsylvania, see you again soon! #MAGA’

The image, which has since gone on to garner more than 1.5 million likes, was quickly inundated with comments from supporters in the state who were delighted to see Trump enjoying one of Pennsylvania’s most beloved delicacies.

‘Aw I am glad you have a Philly cheesesteak! We love you in Pa! You are the best,’ one user wrote.

But a fierce debate also broke out among Philadelphia natives who demanded to know where the president bought the sandwich from, whether it be from Pat’s, or its rival Geno’s – two legendary haunts located across the street from one another on Passyunk Avenue.  

‘Pat’s or Geno’s?’ dozens of responses read on both Instagram and Twitter.

Even the president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., demanded an answer, tweeting his father: ‘2 cheesesteaks. Is that one Pat’s one Gino’s???’

Alt-right political activist Jack Posobiec responded: ‘Bun is way too dry to be Pat’s. Looks more like Geno’s.’

Others voiced hope the president had ventured out to lesser known, yet apparently superior spots. 

‘Not wading into the politics, but apparently Trump and co. have sparked a cheesesteak debate claiming Pat’s and Geno’s are the best,’ one user said. ‘They are not, they are tourist garbage. D’Alessandro’s or [get out]’.

‘That better be from Jay’s on South Street or it ain’t no good to us!’ another added. 

DailyMail.com has since learned the president actually ordered the cheesesteak from Dalessandro’s Steaks.

Trump previously paid a visit to Geno’s during a stop-over in the city in September, 2016, but appears to have changed his go-to preference.    

The Pat’s and Geno’s cheesesteak debate is one of Philly’s greatest food rivalry’s, according to Phillybite.com.

Pat’s founder, Pat Olivieri, claimed to be the original inventor of the cheesesteak and opened up shop on 9th Street and Passyunk Avenue, in South Philadelphia in the 1930s. 

Geno’s launched their cheesesteak shop directly across the street 36 years later and claimed to have mastered the sandwich.

Both of the eateries allegedly use the same bread and the same cheese, though consumers are most commonly divided over the steak itself: Pat’s chops it’s steak, while Geno’s serves its meat sliced.

Dalessandro’s, meanwhile, claims to serve a cheesesteak ‘like no other’ on its website.

The eatery, which opened in the 1960s, has won various awards, year-on-year, crowning it as the best place to go for one of Philly’s finest, and even offers patrons free toppings.

The president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, started a debate of her own on Twitter, uploading the picture of her father with his cheesesteak next to one of him posing with a taco bowl in 2016.

‘Taco Bowl VS Philly Cheesesteak? Retweet for Taco Bowl, Like for Cheesesteak,’ she wrote.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the cheesesteak photo-op was winning by a landslide of 28,000 likes to 5,300 thousand retweets.

The taco bowl picture – showing Trump with one hand giving a thumbs up, and the other hand holding a fork – stirred up a great deal of controversy when it was first uploaded to the president’s official twitter page on May 5, 2016.

In captioning the snap, the president wrote: ‘Happy Cinco De Mayo! The best taco bowl are made in Trump Tower Grill. I love Hispanics!’ 

It was later discovered that Trump Tower Grill didn’t even serve taco bowls at the time, and users mercilessly mocked the un-appealing looking dish and its apparent lack of traditional ingredients, such as tomatoes and avocados.

Then presidential opponent Hillary Clinton also responded to Trump’s claims that he ‘loves Hispanics’ on Twitter.

‘I love Hispanics!’ —Trump, 52 minutes ago,’ wrote Clinton. ”They’re gonna be deported.’ —Trump, yesterday,’ she continued.

The president’s latest uploaded has stirred considerably less controversy, though not all bought the idea that he actually even ate the sandwich in the first place.

‘Pandering with a Philly cheesesteak that you probably threw into the garbage can right after the contrived photo-op,’ wrote Euguene Gu.

‘Show us video of you eating a cheesesteak sandwich. I double dare you,’ added Tom Joseph.

One Trump supporter blasted back: ‘So Trump eating a Philly cheesesteak is pandering, but Biden playing Despasito [sic] at his rally isn’t?’

Hours earlier, Trump took part in a socially distanced ABC town hall broadcast in Philadelphia, in which he took aim at New York City’s recent shooting surge, before vehemently defending law enforcement, arguing they ‘should be allowed to do their job’ in Democrat-led areas around the country.

The primetime special was the first of its kind in this election cycle and the first time in many months that Trump has come into contact with undecided voters. It was held in a virtually empty venue, with the small number of questions the only audience, some of whom kept their masks on when they spoke. 

‘If you’re going to stop crime, we have to give the respect back to the police that they deserve. They’ve done a fantastic job in so many locations, but then bad things happen,’ Trump said.

‘Look at New York. New York was a very safe city. Rudy Giuliani did a fantastic job. The city was safe, and then all of a sudden we have a mayor who starts cutting the police force and crime is up 100 percent, 150 percent. I saw one form of crime up 300 percent,’ he continued.

The president’s appearance in Philadelphia appeared to garner mixed reviews.

While many voiced delight at the president’s pit-stop in the City of Brotherly Love, others urged him to ‘get out of my town’.

‘A Philly cheesesteak on Air Force One with the greatest president ever…PRICELESS!,’ one user wrote. ‘Thanks for loving our country back sir.’

‘Mr. President you did well yesterday With ABC you held your head up high and were fearless. Keep going Mr. President your hard work will pay off,’ opined another.

However, in contrast one user said: ‘Don’t hurry back seems to be the message coming out of Philadelphia.’

‘I don’t think eating a cheesesteak will erase your horrendous record,’ another user wrote, to which a second responded: ‘Counterpoint: A cheesesteak could run the country better tho.’