Here's What's On A Typical Daily Menu For Trump
Donald J. Trump. Real estate tycoon, New York businessman, and 45th president of the United States. He's a whole lot of other things too, but we'll leave it at that for now. Donald Trump is, perhaps, one of the most divisive figures of the 21st century — if not the most divisive — and you'd be hard-pressed these days to find someone who doesn't have a fairly strong opinion about him, one way or the other. But if you feel inclined to go beyond the politics and learn a little more about the man himself, we've compiled a thorough run-down on the president's diet. And we don't mean to lay down judgement for a man's taste or anything, but — well, let's just say you should expect few surprises. Unless, of course, this is exactly what you expected.
President Trump loves McDonald's
Yes, fast food is on the menu. Get used to it, because there's a lot on this list. It's probably no huge shock to find that this darling of the corporate world is a big fan of the food world's corporate darlings. Yes, Trump is a McDonald's fan. After a press conference in the heady days of early 2016, Trump answered a series of quick-fire questions in which he revealed that his favorite McDonald's menu item is the Fish Delight.
Now, you might feel like pointing out that there is no such thing as the Fish Delight at McDonald's. You may even suggest that "Fish Delight" is the exact sort of thing somebody might come up with if they had eaten a ton of fast food in their life but without ever having to go into a store and order from the menu themselves. Of course, what he actually meant (at least we assume) is the Filet-O-Fish.
Donald Trump is a big fan of KFC
Where McDonald's leads, KFC shall follow — and nowhere is this truer than on the list of the president's favorite foods. In the considerably less heady days of mid-2016, Trump tweeted a photo of himself on his own private jet, chowing down on a veritable banquet of KFC (perhaps he'd enjoy this copycat KFC chicken recipe even more). A subsequent investigation by The Washington Post revealed a great deal about Trump's meal.
Namely, that his $20 Fill-Up bucket is supposed to feed a small group (although, to be fair, he may have shared after the photo was taken), that his use of a stainless steel knife, fork and spoon was a little odd considering his dinner. They also noted that his choice of reading material to go with the meal was The Wall Street Journal and a copy of a letter sent by senate democrats to President Obama urging the acceptance of more Syrian refugees into the United States. Nothing wrong staying informed while consuming your delicious fried chicken on-the-go.
Trump likes his steak well-done
Yes, you read that correctly — the 45th president of the United States of America enjoys his steaks burnt to a crisp. Ordering a well-done steak is a bit of an insult to cattle, but Trump's butler, Anthony Senecal, revealed that his steaks would be so well-done that they'd "rock on the plate."
Some studies have suggested that consuming over-cooked meat can lead to memory problems in later life and put you at a higher risk of prostate cancer. More than anything, however, a well-done steak is simply a waste of good meat. It is fine dining for the unrefined; usually resulting in a tough and tasteless (and basically ruined) steak. The only person he's hurting, in this case, is himself — and maybe the chef that's forced to overcook such lovely meat.
Trump wants you to know he loves taco bowls
During the election campaign, Trump decided to make efforts to win over the hispanic vote on Cinco de Mayo by tweeting a photo of himself at Trump Tower, in NYC, eating a taco bowl. He also took the opportunity to plug Trump Tower's restaurant and declare that he "loves Hispanics!"
To save you the trouble, Business Insider sent a food reporter to Trump Grill to try the taco bowl for themselves. The $18 dish apparently had a decent, warm crunch to its tacos, but fell flat in pretty much every other aspect. The guac was bland, the beef underseasoned and the cheese no more than pre-shredded cheddar. Business Insider declared the president's version of the classic Tex-Mex dish as "passable at best, mediocre at worst." But thanks to his tweet, we at least know that Trump thinks it's tasty. Eighteen bucks for a taco bowl is bit pricey, especially when you can make the best taco salad at home.
The president doesn't drink alcohol
What may come as slightly more of a surprise is the fact that Donald Trump is a teetotaller. According to the man himself, he's never had a drink because his elder brother, Fred Trump, died of alcoholism at the age of 41. As a result, he's allegedly never touched a drop of the stuff, even while scaling the dizzying heights of the New York real estate business.
Except, of course, that doesn't seem to be entirely true. The Telegraph ran a story suggesting that he might have broken his golden rule at a 2017 meeting at the UN. After a little bit of analysis, political pundits seemed to agree that the reddish liquid he was drinking was, indeed, wine. So maybe he refrains most of the time? From what we can tell, that seems to be the case.
Donald Trump likes Burger King
Yes, we're back to the fast food. You thought you'd seen the last of it, hadn't you? Not content with McDonald's and KFC, it seems Trump isn't averse to shaking things up a little and branching out with a Burger King every once in awhile. After a speech in Florida during the election campaign, Trump and his team celebrated by sending his driver to the drive-in to pick up food for the gang. According to an interview shortly after, Trump opted for fast food simply because it was quick. It's pretty hard to fault him for that.
Apparently, Trump's love of Burger King isn't unreciprocated, either — shortly after the election, Burger King Russia honored the newly-elected president of the United States by releasing a Trump-themed burger, which was essentially just their "Angriest Whopper" meal, except larger. No word on whether or not he got to try that, but we're guessing they'd still make his one if he happened to be in the neighborhood.
The president eats a lot of pizza — but not how you think
Yes, pizza! Who doesn't love it? It's the ultimate comfort food — the snack of choice for today's undiscerning everyman. Nobody better encapsulates this truth, of course, than self-declared man-of-the-people Donald Trump.
Many may think it's bizarre that Trump eats his pizza by scraping off and eating the toppings and leaving the dough, but it's really not that shocking in a day and age where carbs tend to be considered the enemy. Still, his consumption of fried chicken and hamburgers (with buns) make us wonder if that's really his reasoning, or if he's just a big fan of sauce and cheese.
Also revealed in his quick-fire US Magazine interview: Trump likes cherry and vanilla ice cream, Citizen Kane and hamburgers. But you knew that last one, didn't you?
Donald Trump loves meatloaf sandwiches
Coming in on the relatively normal end of Donald Trump's diet spectrum, we've got meatloaf sandwiches. Long before the presidency entered Trump's sights, he appeared on television with Martha Stewart (looking like he's actually about to bake with a cook's apron hanging over the front of his suit) and his wife Melania to aid in the creation of what he declared as one of his favorite foods.
Naturally, we watched the video so you don't have to. Here's the skinny: Trump spends three minutes plugging The Apprentice (this makes sense since his appearance on the who was likely a promotion for that gig) while he slaps together a meatloaf sandwich that, to his credit (or Stewart's) looks just about passable.
Whether it was all promotional or not, it appears that Trump really is a fan of meatloaf. Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said Trump was pretty insistent on him eating the dish when he visited the White House. As you might have guessed, the key to a meatloaf sandwich is a good meatloaf, and making meatloaf that rivals Cracker Barrel's is easier than you think.
Donald Trump loves Diet Coke
So if he's not drinking beer and wine, what's he washing down all that fast food with? Well, it's not water. According to The New York Times, Trump drinks at least a dozen Diet Cokes every day. It's no secret that Americans in general have a problem with sugary beverages, but a dozen sodas a day — even the diet variety — is just a bit over the top.
Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, the dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University told Time that just the caffeine from all that soda is enough to cause him problems like a higher heart rate, insomnia and migraines — not to mention other health issues related to diet soda like weight gain, increased risk for type 2 diabetes, and increased risk of stroke.
Trump doesn't eat breakfast
Now, we can't actually be too critical about this one. Despite some people heralding breakfast as the Queen of All Meals, for others, it's simply not a priority. In an interview with Fox News (via the Chicago Tribune), Trump revealed that breakfast is his least favorite meal of the day. When he does go for it, he eats bacon and eggs or cornflakes "right out of the fields of Iowa." (Always be campaigning!)
What else is there to say? Not everyone likes breakfast. Fair enough.
Of course, the president does enjoy fine dining
Trump does get out to a fancy restaurant every now and again, though. In the past, he's been spotted out dining with his family, a failed British politician, and even occasionally a Democrat or two. Often, however, these restaurant-based dinners serve a political or social purpose rather than a personal one.
The Washington Examiner reported in 2016 a story related by Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, in which Trump ordered dinner for Christie at a restaurant in one of Trump's New York hotels. He brought out the chef, asked what he had ordered the week before, and ordered the exact same thing again, for himself and for Christie.
It would appear that, when it comes to the choice of food and of the restaurant in which he eats it, Trump is hardly the most adventurous diner on the planet. He knows what he likes, and he sticks with it.
Donald Trump loves to snack
Considering how crucial junk food is to Trump's diet, it'd probably be more of a surprise if he didn't snack on the regular. Well, true to form, the man is a big snacker — and very few things are off-limits. According to a book written by Trump's former campaign manager, Cory Lewandowski, Air Force One is regularly stocked with "Vienna Fingers, potato chips, pretzels, and many packages of Oreos." Okay, this is why you don't skip breakfast, folks.
But that's not all. Not only is Trump pretty much obsessed with snacking, but he's also a germaphobe who won't eat from any packet that has been previously opened. This presumably means that, should Trump not finish any one particular packet of snacks, they all have to be thrown away or otherwise discarded because he'll refuse to come back to them.
Of course, Lewandowski's claim that Air Force One is regularly stocked with Oreos ought to raise an eyebrow or two, since Trump vowed in 2015 — long before becoming president — to never eat them again, because the company announced plans to move production to Mexico.
The president gets extra dessert
Yes, dessert is on the menu, too. Why wouldn't it be? But as you might expect, the president doesn't always get the same desserts as everyone else — and that goes for the rest of the meal, too.
In 2017, TIME magazine shadowed Trump for a few days, sticking by his side as he went about his daily routine. During this time, Trump sat down for a dinner with the magazine's reporters, which was also attended by Vice President Mike Pence. Although the menu was fixed, the differences in what Trump was actually served were stark. For example, where everyone else was served water, Trump was given a Diet Coke. When the chicken was served, he was given an extra dish of sauce. And, of course, during dessert — vanilla ice cream with chocolate cream pie — Trump was given two scoops of ice cream, while everyone else got one. The only other exception was Mike Pence, who was served a fruit plate.
It appears, there are more than a few perks to being the president, and one is an extra bit of sweets.
President Trump definitely doesn't eat these things
When you're as — ahem — discerning as Donald Trump, you're bound to hate almost as many foods as you love. And sure enough, there are a few things we know the man really isn't keen on.
First, there's sushi. The classic Japanese delicacy is, of course, something of an acquired taste, but it's hard to understate Donald Trump's dislike for it. During a 1990 trip to Japan, the future president said that he would not eat "f***ing raw fish" and instead opted for a McDonald's hamburger, according to an excerpt from the book Lost Tycoon: The Many Lives of Donald J. Trump (via Newsweek).
Then you've got vegetables. It's obvious that greens aren't a huge part of Trump's diet anyway, but the guy seems to dislike them so much that he once hand-delivered a letter to New York's mayor begging for something to be done about the food vendors who had "overrun" Fifth Avenue — with Trump taking particular exception to the "humongous vegetable stand which operates at Fifth Avenue and 57th Street."
Oh, and he leaves pickles off his burgers. But that's a little more understandable. Right?
Donald Trump believes in fast food for all
Trump's obsession with fast food doesn't end with himself. In fact, he appears to be pretty dead set on making everyone else eat it, too. In January 2019, Trump experienced one of the most iconic and notorious moments of his presidency, when he served an entire banquet of fast food to a football team visiting the White House.
Due to a government shutdown, the residence staff at the White House were furloughed and couldn't come in to work. This meant that Trump's team had to send out for a mountain of junk food (paid for by Trump himself), including McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King, Chick-fil-A, and pizza. President Trump insisted that the meal — which was served buffet-style and which the president described as "patriotic" — amounted to a total of 1,000 hamburgers. In the end, closer to 300 were served. The banquet was roundly mocked in the media — but we're guessing at least a few of the football players enjoyed the fast food meal better than whatever fancy dish had been planned.
In March 2019, long after the shutdown ended, Trump repeated his banquet stunt, serving a feast of Big Macs and Chick-fil-A sandwiches to a football team visiting from North Dakota.