White House mocks Democrats' laxity on election security, says pasta pass is more strictly regulated

White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson quipped that an Italian restaurant chain is more particular about protecting its pasta subscription than Democrats are about the integrity of America's elections. "I saw a tweet yesterday from Olive Garden, of all places, that in order to take advantage of their never-ending pasta pass, you have to show photo ID. I thought, that's weird. Olive Garden takes pasta pass security more seriously than Democrats are taking election security," she said in an interview on Newsmax.

Jackson then reiterated that President Donald Trump plans to keep pushing Congress to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act—legislation that has come to define his second term and includes measures like proof-of-citizenship for voter registration and photo ID requirements while casting a vote."...it just shows how absurd the Democrats are that they can't even get behind common-sense policies that even somewhere like Olive Garden can say, 'Hey, we need this for us, too,'" she concluded.

The White House spokesperson's remarks come after Olive Garden announced its "Never-Ending Pasta Pass," costing $100 plus tax, which gives the first 10,000 buyers 13 weeks of unlimited pasta. But when X users asked if they could share their pass with friends and family, the chain responded: "No. The Never-Ending Pasta Pass is only for use by the Passholder whose name is printed on the Pass. Passes are personalized and non-transferable. Passholders must present a valid photo I.D. along with the Pass at the time of ordering."

Jackson's remarks were widely ridiculed online after users pointed out that a private company implementing its business policy is not the same as protecting a constitutional right to vote—one that the bill's critics say is under threat, characterising it as a measure to suppress voters. "The IDs needed for Olive Garden, to buy beer, or board a domestic flight are not accepted under the SAVE America Act. If companies only accepted SAVE America Act-approved IDs, they'd go out of business," Melanie D'Arrigo, a prominent activist, wrote on X.

Meanwhile, Trump doubled down on the need for the act during his Thursday primetime address, citing alleged vulnerabilities that can affect the midterm elections. "We want those elections to be honest. But most importantly,...Congress must pass the SAVE America Act. How easy is that to do, unless you want to cheat," he said. "The only reason you wouldn't do it is you want to cheat because your policies are so bad, and your candidates are so pathetic that you can't get away or can't get elected any other way."