This Is What Joe Biden Really Eats
You might have noticed that President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. always seems to maintain a trim physique. That not surprising when you consider that Biden has made a serious commitment to working out, according to his longtime physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor of The George Washington University (via NBC News). Also, he doesn't drink, according to The New York Times, and that must help since alcohol is high in calories and can lead to weight gain over time (via Harvard's The Nutrition Source).
But in all honesty, we've been keeping an eye on what Joe Biden's been eating these past few years as he's made his way to the office of President of the United States, and we couldn't help but notice: This man is an eating machine!
Take, for example, his food diary from his 2012 vice presidential campaign, which was published by the Washington Examiner. It's just one decadent meal after another. And we're not talking fancy stuff like shrimp cocktail, which can actually be a healthy indulgence, according to Healthline. Rather, we're talking fast food, ice cream, and lumberjack breakfasts. But don't take our word for it ... read on and see for yourself what Joe Biden really eats.
"My name is Joe Biden, and I love ice cream." -- President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
It's no secret that Joe Biden is an ice cream enthusiast. "My name is Joe Biden and I love ice cream," he famously said in 2016, according to The Hill. "You all think I'm kidding — I'm not. I eat more ice cream than three other people you'd like to be with, all at once." In fact, according to campaign-finance disclosures, the Biden campaign spent $12,546 dollars on Columbus, Ohio-based Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream alone during the one-year period between August 2019 and September 2020 (via Columbus Monthly).
Of course, all of that wasn't consumed by Biden, alone. It appears the campaign sent quite a few six-packs of Jeni's pints to campaign backers, and presumably, kept some on hand for the enjoyment of campaign staffers. But when you consider that the $12,546 dollars doesn't reflect any of the ice cream that Joe Biden consumed that wasn't made by Jeni's, you can see that Biden's love of ice cream is real. So real, in fact, that Jeni's created an ice cream inspired by Biden's favorite flavor, chocolate chip. And that's not even the first time Biden has had an ice cream created in his honor. Back in 2017, when Biden gave the commencement speech at Cornell University, the Cornell Dairy created the flavor, "Big Red, White, and Biden" to honor both Biden and the university, whose sports teams go by the nickname, Big Red (via PBS).
But Joe Biden doesn't stand on ceremonies when it comes to frozen treats. Pretty much anything is fair game
Although Joe Biden identifies as an "ice cream" guy, the fact is, he seems more than happy to enjoy any number of frozen treats. As Columbus Monthly noted, "If it is creamy and frosty and sweet, Joe Biden is all about it." Indeed, he's been known to stop his motorcade just to grab a milkshake, which is precisely what he did at the Durham outpost of the regional chain, Cook Out, after his North Carolina drive-in rally on October 18, 2020, according to Business Insider.
And on occasion, he's been seen indulging in frozen custard, as he did on June 6, 2012. While on a visit to Winston-Salem (also in North Carolina, just by chance) to highlight the Obama administration's efforts to bring manufacturing jobs back to America, Joe Biden dug into a double-dip of Wolfie's Frozen Custard, according to the Winston-Salem Journal. In case you're wondering, here is the real difference between frozen custard and ice cream.
Let's just put it out there: Joe Biden has a serious sweet tooth
"Food has long been a powerful tool for politicians to shape their public personas," The Washington Post astutely observed. Just think about how jelly beans, and in particular, Jelly Belly brand jelly beans, helped shaped President Ronald Reagan's image (and vice versa). Joe Biden's ice cream obsession has long been a significant part of the 46th President's image, offering him a "relatable" quirkiness that nevertheless resonates with many voters — because who among us doesn't at least like ice cream?
But as loyal as Joe Biden is to ice cream and related creamy, frozen treats, it would be unfair to the other desserts not to mention that the 46th President of the U.S. has a sweet tooth that just won't quit. In fact, it would appear there isn't a sweet that Joe Biden wouldn't partake in now and then. According to his food diary from his 2012 vice presidential campaign, which was published by the Washington Examiner, Biden's desserts of choice have included cookies, rice pudding, peach pie, custard pie, cheesecake, coconut cream pie, and an "unidentified strawberry treat" to name just a few.
Joe Biden can be a bit of a "rock star" when it comes to demanding his favorite pasta dish
In 2016, Joe Biden told Us Weekly that his favorite meal was pasta (because ice cream isn't a meal?). And while our 46th President has been known to chow down on spaghetti with marinara sauce, his flat-out favorite pasta dish is a slightly different variation on the pasta with red-sauce theme: angel hair pomodoro, via The Week. Here is how marinara and pomodoro actually differ from one another, by the way,.
Biden's devotion to angel hair pomodoro runs so deep that Biden has been known to go a bit "rock star" about it when he's on tour, which is to say that in the same way that Beyoncé demands almonds and oat cakes backstage, Joe Biden demands angel hair pomodoro. And like many a rock star who has their food preferences written into their concert contracts, Biden has his written right into his speaking engagement contracts. In fact, it's part of his standard contractual boilerplate, The Week reported.
There's a reason Joe Biden has an affinity for classic Italian-American food
The Italian food and beverage industry has great expectations for Joe Biden's presidency, according to Italian Food.net, an Italy-based platform devoted entirely to the Italian food and beverage industry. Their stated reason is they're hopeful the 46th president will usher in a better climate for international trade. Apparently things have been rough on that front for the past four years, with high duties being placed on food and beverage exports from Italy, according to Ettore Prandini, president of Colidretti, an international trade organization representing international agricultural entrepreneurs.
But there might be another reason, which is that Joe Biden is a huge fan of Italian food. For one thing, Biden enjoys classic red-sauce-style Italian-American food (via Delaware Online). For another, his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, whose ancestors hailed from Sicily (via Fodors), is very big on Italian cooking, according to Delaware Online. And as we are all starting to recognize, Joe Biden eats a lot, and while he, alone, won't likely make a dent in sales of Italian foods, the President of the United States is always an influence on the nation's eating habits (via Penn State University's News).
Chicken parm is nice, but Jill Biden's parmesan chicken is a favorite of Joe's
Given Joe Biden's appreciation for red-sauce Italian food (via The Washington Post), it shouldn't be surprising that his campaign trail tends to include multiple stops for pizza and at least one stop at Steubenville, Ohio's Naples Spaghetti House for their famous chicken parm (via Washington Examiner). But thanks to Parade Magazine's interview with his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, we now understand how that chicken parm might have been particularly comforting to him while on the road.
One of Dr. Biden's mantras is, apparently, "food is love." When the Bidens were first married, and she became a step-mom to Beau and Hunter, who had lost their mother and baby sister in a car accident, she made sure to provide both "security and love," and part of that was through cooking and baking for them. One of the Biden family's longtime favorite dishes is a version of chicken parmesan that Dr. Biden calls, "Parmesan Chicken," which she serves with rigatoni and green salad.
Joe Biden doesn't exclude veggies from his diet
Sure, President Joe Biden eats what can only be called an "ungodly amount of junk food" (via Washington Examiner), it's not, however, as if he never eats anything healthy. In fact Biden's campaign food diary, as published by the Washington Examiner, has him eating salad not once, but three whole times. Granted, one of those times, it was tuna salad, which may or may not have any vegetables in it at all, but one can always hope that Boca Raton's Nestor's Gourmet Deli served that tuna salad to Mr. Biden on a bed of lettuce, at the very least.
The campaign food diary also reveals that in Sterling, Virginia, Biden dined on a "mini chopped salad with avocado" at Mimi's Cafe. Then there's the side salad that his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, traditionally serves with her signature parmesan chicken (via Parade Magazine), and the vegetable beef soup Joe carried out from a Hy-Vee in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Nor should we forget about the Caprese salad that his speaking engagement contract requires be served with his angel hair pomodoro and raspberry sorbet (via The Week).
Joe Biden skipped eating a corn dog at the state fair
State fairs are, as CNN puts it, "paradise" for politicians. And it's not just about supporting the agricultural industry or acting folksy with the locals. What a politician chooses to eat or not to eat at these shindigs matter (via The New York Times). If you find that hard to believe, just Google "what politicians eat at state fairs." What you'll find is that numerous outlets offer a near-obsessive listing of politicians and their personal state fair food foibles. And if you dig just a little bit deeper, what you'll find is an obscure political truism that may have guided Joe Biden's choice to eat fried cheese balls rather than a corndog at Ohio's Canfield Fair (via Washington Examiner).
Ready? Here goes. No presidential candidate, save for Barack Obama, has ever survived the eating of a corn dog, at least politically speaking (via Eater). And apparently, our 46th president was not willing to take any chances in Ohio, or for that matter in Iowa, where the state fair can apparently make or break a candidate according to The New York Times. And if you're curious about the absolutely bonkers things one can eat at state fairs — things that make corn dogs and fried cheese balls look utterly mundane, then you'll want to read this.
Truth be told, Joe Biden can't resist fast food's siren song
Like state fairs, fast-food restaurants are big political business, according to Eater, which toward the end of the 2020 election cycle, performed a statistical analysis of which politicians are indirectly benefitting most from fast-food profits (they can't directly benefit because Federal law prohibits corporations and labor unions from donating directly to political candidates). As it turns out, no CEO of any major fast-food company donated to either Trump or Biden, but fast-food employees donate more money to Republicans than to Democrats.
It appears that President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. is not taking it personally. Either that, or his love of fast food is just too big for him to quit. Among the fast food joints that Biden frequents are Dairy Queen, which according to a tweet by Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn), represents nothing short of a brilliant political choice (via The Washington Post) and Whataburger, to which Biden gave a shout-out at the Dallas rally at which former Texas Representative Beto O'Rourke officially endorsed Biden's presidential candidacy in early 2020 (via CNN).
"I'm going to Whataburger right now," Biden exclaimed as the event came to a close. Although members of the audience thought he might be kidding, he most certainly was not.
Yes, Joe Biden has been known to drink soda ... especially diet soda
Along with sliced cheese, ketchup, and eggs, something you'll pretty much always find in Joe Biden's fridge is an ample supply of Diet Coke and Coke Zero, according to the Washington Post. In keeping with the unification theme that was central to President Biden's inauguration address, here's a fun fact: an appreciation for Diet Coke is something that President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. shares with his predecessor, former President Donald J. Trump (along with eschewing alcoholic beverages, according to The New York Times).
So deep is Trump's devotion to the ubiquitous diet soft drink that he had a special red button installed on his desk in the Oval Office, which, when pressed, would alert his staff to bring him a Diet Coke, stat. "With the push of a red button placed on the Resolute Desk that presidents have used for decades, a White House butler soon arrived with a Coke for the president," AP reporter Julie Pace wrote in 2017 (via Time).
As for Biden, however, maybe the devotion doesn't run quite so deep. Just hours after his inauguration, the Diet Coke button is gone. Or maybe it's harbinger of the many changes to come under Biden's presidency. Here's more on the disappearing Diet Coke button.
Joe Biden's favorite drink is Gatorade
President Joe Biden makes no bones about the fact that he doesn't partake in alcoholic beverages. He's seen the damage that hitting the bottle has done to loved ones, neighbors, and other members of his inner circle, according to Marie Claire. So, perhaps we should cut him a break for drinking diet soda, which isn't exactly a health food, or his favorite drink of all, Gatorade.
"My favorite drink is orange Gatorade," President Biden told Us Magazine in a "25 Things You Don't Know About Me" piece that appeared the day after his inauguration. Unfortunately, while Gatorade is a healthier choice than soda, that's not saying much. A far better choice for hydration would be good ole water. Or maybe even milk, which is actually better than water at helping the body to maintain its state of hydration. Or coffee or tea, for that matter.
Joe Biden loves sandwiches (but who doesn't?)
Just a quick skim of Joe Biden's food diary from his 2012 vice presidential campaign, which was published by the Washington Examiner, reveals that the 46th President of the United States is a fan of sandwiches. And by that, we mean all manner of sandwiches, including hot dogs, cheeseburgers, and peanut butter and jelly, not to mention meals consisting of both cheeseburgers and peanut butter and jelly. And like many a fellow American, Mr. Biden is a fan of the sort of sandwich many refer to as a "Dagwood."
For the uninitiated, a "Dagwood" sandwich, which is named after Dagwood Bumstead, the hapless husband of the central character in the eponymously named "Blondie" comic strip, is a comically tall sandwich constructed of multiple layers of bread, meat, cheese, and condiments. At a campaign stop in Concord, New Hampshire, Biden enjoyed his own Dagwood sandwich, courtesy of The Works Cafe (via WMUR) On behalf of foodies everywhere, and especially fans of the show, Man v. Food, we wholeheartedly approve.
Joe Biden and the case of the ketchup, peanut butter, and jelly
Whereas First Lady Dr. Jill Biden's must-have kitchen staples consists of "lots of fresh fruits and vegetables," her husband's consists of "ketchup, peanut butter and jelly." And that's a direct quote from Dr. Biden herself, who told journalist Alison Ashton as much in an interview for Parade Magazine.
"He's pretty much a basic eater," the First Lady remarked regarding her husband's dietary proclivities. But we have to admit we're a bit confused. Did Dr. Biden mean that POTUS enjoys ketchup, peanut butter and jelly — together? As in a sandwich consisting of ketchup and peanut butter and jelly? Because if so, that sounds anything but "basic." In fact, it's the first time we've ever heard of it, although now that we think about it, it's probably nothing Andrew Zimmerman hasn't already tasted.
On the other hand, we do make room for the possibility that an Oxford comma placed between "peanut butter" and "jelly" might have led to an entirely different conclusion.
Give Mr. Joe Biden a heaping platter of soul food, and he'll be happy
Once upon a time, former Vice President Joe Biden was going head-to-head against Senator Kamala Harris in a bid to win the Democratic Party nomination for the 2020 presidential race. And it wasn't going well for Biden in the wake of the first Democratic Party debate, in which Senator Harris took him to task for remarks he made earlier about his work with segregationist lawmakers, which Harris considered hurtful from a race perspective (via CNBC). So what did the industrious former Vice President do? He went to Dulan's on Crenshaw in Los Angeles, donned an apron, and got to work, according to The New York Times.
For the uninitiated, Dulan's refers to Dulan's Soul Food Kitchen, a black-owned restaurant that's been dishing up some of Los Angeles' favorite soul food since 1975. And while spending a little time in a soul food kitchen was great for rehabilitating Biden's image, we're guessing there was more in it for Biden than mere political currency. And by that we mean potatoes, eggs, sausage, bacon, and fried chicken, which he told TMZ are some of his favorites.