Donald Trump is perhaps one of the most divisive figures of the 21st century, and most people
seem to have a fairly strong opinion about him, one way or the other.
But if you'd like to go beyond the politics and just learn a little more about the man
himself, here are some of the foods the president loves — and hates.
You may be in for a few surprises.
Trump's obsession with fast food doesn't end with himself.
In fact, he appears to be pretty 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 the national-championship-winning
Clemson Tigers football team visiting the White House.
"I think we're going to serve McDonald's, Wendy's, and Burger King with some pizza.
I really mean it."
Due to a government shutdown, the residence staff at the White House couldn't come into
work.
This meant that Trump's team had to send out for a mountain of junk food, paid for by Trump
himself.
He even mocked the idea of having a healthier option.
"Or do we give you some little quick salads, that the first lady will make along with the
second lady, they'll make some salads."
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.
"Many, many french fries."
The banquet was roundly mocked in the media.
In March 2019, long after the government 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.
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 serial snacker — and very few things are off-limits when
it comes to munching between meals.
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."
But that's not all.
Not only is Trump a huge snacker, but he's also a renowned germaphobe who refuses to
eat from any packet that has been previously opened.
This presumably means that if he doesn't finish all of his snacks, they all have to be thrown
away, or someone else has to eat them, because he won't come back to them.
Of course, Lewandowki's claim that Air Force One is regularly stocked with Oreos ought
to raise an eyebrow or two, since, according to Business Insider, Trump vowed in 2015 to
never eat them again after the company announced plans to move their plants to Mexico.
"No more Oreos!
No more Oreos!"
Yes, dessert is on the menu, too.
But as you might expect, dessert isn't just dessert with Trump.
Dessert has to be more dessert than everyone else.
"And we had the most beautiful piece of chocolate cake that you've ever seen."
In 2017, TIME magazine shadowed Trump for a few days, sticking by his side as he went
about his daily routine.
At one point, 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 during dessert — vanilla ice cream with chocolate cream pie — Trump was given two
scoops of ice cream, while everyone else got only one.
What may come as slightly more of a surprise is the fact that Donald Trump doesn't drink
alcohol.
According to the man himself, it's because his older 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.
"And to this day I've never had a drink.
And I have no longing for it, I have no interest in it."
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
meeting at the UN.
Political pundits seemed to agree that the reddish liquid in his glass was wine — but
he could've been faking those sips, or it could have been grape juice.
When you have strong opinions like 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 Trump
has an extreme dislike for it.
According to an excerpt from the book Lost Tycoon: The Many Lives of Donald J. Trump,
during a 1990 trip to Japan, the future President said,
"[I won't eat] f------ raw fish."
He instead opted for a McDonald's hamburger.
Then you've got vegetables.
Greens don't seem to play a huge part of Trump's diet anyway, but the guy seems to dislike
them so much that according to the New York Times, he once hand-delivered a letter to
New York's mayor begging for something to be done about the, quote,
"Humongous vegetable stand which operates at Fifth Avenue and 57th Street."
Oh, and he leaves pickles off his burgers.
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