It's the Symbol of MAGA Washington. All Is Not As It Seems.

"Gone are the archaic days of 2017, when journalists had to comb Rust Belt diners in Pennsylvania and Ohio, asking patrons how they could support a man so loathed in the reporters' own social circles. Instead, their biggest hardship to get to Butterworth's from their Washington bureaus is (potentially) having to change trains on the D.C. Metro."

"In the way that Studio 54 is used as shorthand for the hedonism of 1970s New York or Moulin Rouge is the defining locale of Belle Epoque Paris, Butterworth's has become the emblem of Washington in Donald Trump's second term."

"Some of this is cyclical. After all, a media tradition in Washington in every new administration is to try to find the hangouts and secret social life of the staffers who run the city: During Trump's first term, it was the bar of his eponymous hotel. In the second half of the Obama era, it was La Diplomate, the trendy French restaurant that became a hot spot after its 2013 opening."

Butterworth's, a bistro located near the Capitol, has emerged as the defining social hub of Washington during Trump's second term, replacing the need for journalists to travel to Rust Belt diners to understand Trump supporters. The restaurant has attracted significant media attention from both domestic and international outlets, with reporters documenting the MAGA clientele inside and occasional protesters outside. This phenomenon reflects a cyclical Washington tradition of identifying staff hangouts during new administrations—previously the Trump Hotel bar during his first term and La Diplomate during the Obama era. Butterworth's opened just before the 2024 election and capitalized on the wave of triumphant MAGA supporters arriving in Washington following Trump's electoral victory.

Read at Slate Magazine