Washington, DC - President Donald Trump called the national champion Clemson Tigers a "great team," as he greeted the players and coaches from the university at the White House Monday night.
Trump hosted the Tigers inside a packed State Floor room in the room. He then allowed the players to go down to the Oval Office to take pictures.
"[You're] one of the best teams ever in the history of college football," Trump said.
Calling their victory over Alabama last Monday night "jaw-dropping," the president said the team set a standard for excellence.
"That was an inspiration for our country," he added.
Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney thank the president for the invitation, and mentioned that he grew up in a small town in Alabama, and ever could have imagined he'd one day be in the White House. "It's really cool that football can create an opportunity like this," he said.
The players were served a buffet of fast food, including a selection off the menu from McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, as well as Domino's pizza. Photos showed Big Macs, whoppers--and even salads--up on a long table for players to choose from.
Trump called the selection "great American food." When asked what's his favorite, he said he liked all of them.
“If it’s American, I like it. It’s all American stuff," Trump said. "And it’s going to be very interesting to see at the end of this evening how many are left."
Clemson assistant coach Jeff Scott tweeted a picture of a plate full of Quarter Pounders.
Trump said he had a choice of serving either small salads or ordering up the food. He chose the food, because he likes it, and he thought the players would too.
"We have Big Macs, we have Quarter Pounders with cheese, everything that I like that you like and I know no matter what we did there's nothing we could have had that would be better than that."
The White House says the president personally paid for the food because much of the residence staff is furloughed due to the government shutdown.
Earlier in the day, Clemson players and coaches got a chance to tour a few of the sites around D.C. The team tweeted out a few photos of them in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
Swinney has nominated this season's undefeated Tigers as the best college team ever.
The visit by the Clemson football team will be its second since Trump has become president. The Tigers last visited in June 2017 after their championship run the previous season.
Clemson defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide 44-16 last Monday night to earn their second title in three years. It also capped a 15-0 season.
