The Weirdest Things Donald Trump Has Been Caught Eating

Donald Trump may be a risk-taker in many ways, but not when it comes to his food choices. In fact, his eating preferences somewhat resemble those of a fairly picky kindergartner. What his menu lacks in variety or quality, it makes up for in quantity — at his 2019 medical exam, Politico relates that Trump, weighing in at 243 pounds at a height of 6 foot 3 inches, technically crossed the threshold into obesity.

Former White House physician Dr. Ronny Jackson spoke with The New York Times about his time as Trump's doctor. He said he'd tried to help the president lose a little weight, about 10 or 15 pounds, but had ultimately failed to achieve this goal. What was interesting, though, were the techniques he used: trying to "mak[e] the ice cream less accessible" and "putting cauliflower into the mashed potatoes." Ha! How many parents of fussy toddlers have tried that trick? So, obviously Trump's no fan of veggies, while he and his opposite number Joe Biden seem to share a passion for high-calorie frozen treats. (And yet Biden stays so slim! How fair is that?)

Despite being no fan of exotic eats, our POTUS does have a few food habits that most would find a bit odd. We're pleased to present, for your consideration (as narrator Rod Serling once introduced an episode of the Twilight Zone), the following list of interesting Trump meals.

One thing about Trump that really makes the foodies freak out is the way he eats his steak. It really burns their bavettes the way he asks for his steaks well-done — as his long-time Mar-a-Lago butler told The New York Times, a Trump-approved steak "would rock on the plate, it was so well done." Quelle horreur! Most chefs say you should never order a steak cooked anything above a medium 135 degrees (well-done isn't done until it hits 155). Well-done steaks tend to be dry, tough, and lacking in flavor.

Just as well in the case of Trump's steaks, really. Any subtle nuances of flavor would be lost on his plate, drowned beneath his steak condiment of choice. No, not A-1 or even Heinz 57. A waiter at the Trump International Hotel's steakhouse BLT Prime described a typical Trump order (via Town & Country): "The President ordered a well-done steak. An aged New York strip. He ate it with catsup as he always does." Wow, really? Might as well be a Dollar Tree ribeye under all that gunk instead of a badly-used $55 cut of meat. Still, Trump's server must have managed to serve that dubious meal with a straight face, as he did pocket a nice $100 tip.

Trump is also a big burger fan. What is a little weird is the way he orders his burger at the 21 Club, a restaurant at which Bloomberg says he has a regular table. The restaurant is famous for its "21" Burger, which is said to have been the nation's first gourmet hamburger when it was introduced back in the 1940s. The burger comes with not only the typical pickles and tomato offered by any fast-food joint, but also grilled onions (a cut above raw ones), a special "21" sauce (made of ketchup and Colman's mustard, according to Medium), and a choice of cheeses including blue and cheddar. You can, of course, get these burgers cooked to order, as well, instead of fresh from the warming tray as is customary further down the food chain. So how does Trump order his burger? Cooked to a crisp, of course, and topped with that most mundane of cheeses, American, so as to better approximate a non-gourmet, fast-food burger.

In fact, Politico reveals that Trump even tried to have the White House replicate the McDonald's Quarter Pounder with Cheese. Somehow, the trained chefs' version did not live up to Trump's expectations, so one of his bodyguards had to make a Mickey D's run to satisfy that particular presidential craving.

There's nothing unusual about drinking Diet Coke, not even on a daily basis, although it may not be as healthy as you'd hope. What is a bit over the top, though, is drinking a dozen Diet Cokes each and every day, which The New York Times says is a Trump habit. While it's commendable that Trump drinks no alcohol, and according to a Q&A he did for Us Weekly, he also avoids coffee and tea, still, 12 Diet Cokes is a whole lot of artificial sweetener, and that can't be good.

One fun fact about Trump's Diet Cokes is the way he gets them. According to Time, in the Oval Office there is a box with a little red button sitting right on the desk, Instead of launching nuclear missiles, however, pushing this red button summons... a butler bearing a Diet Coke for the president. That has to be the most dramatic soft drink delivery ever.