So what do presidential candidates eat?
Fast food and lots of it • Everything you need and do not need to know about the menu of Donald Trump and Joe Biden
The US election, which takes place today (Tuesday), will be particularly dramatic, in keeping with American tradition, and is expected to decide between two opposing worldviews, the extrovert of incumbent President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, quieter and more cautious.
Despite the many differences between the two, they have one thing in common that is not exactly something to be proud of - the love of junk food.
While this love of fast food is not a significant part, if any, of the two's election campaign, there is such a phrase, "man is what he eats," so perhaps through food we will try to learn a little about the two in a slightly different way.
Not sure we will succeed, but at least we will try.
Photo: Reuters
Breakfast Hate, Big Mac Lover: Donald Trump's Menu
The incumbent American president is known for not being a big proponent of breakfasts.
In 2016 he was interviewed by the Fox network and said: "I eat lunch but my main meal of the day is in the evening. If I can skip breakfast I would rather do so."
Trump added in another interview that he does not drink coffee or tea, and that if he is already eating breakfast, his favorite dish is bacon with over-fried eggs.
His remarks, by the way, have angered a number of dietitians and nutritionists who have claimed that this is a high-calorie dish some of whose ingredients also increase the chance of getting cancer.
Trump's top adviser, Corey Lewandowski, who wrote the book "Let Trump Be Trump" about his time with the president, once said he "can work 14-16 hours without eating at all and is also not a big fan of eating in the middle of work."
If Trump does decide to have lunch, the dish chosen will be a well-known flagship dish, a meatball sandwich, with no vegetables of course and alongside white bread.
Dinner is dominant in Trump's agenda, as he travels, orders or sends his people to fast food restaurants, most notably McDonald's, but quite often KFC or Burger King branches also receive a presidential visit.
Trump has in the past addressed criticism he has received for eating a lot at junk restaurants and said he prefers to go to places like this because he knows they are industrially clean and therefore his food is healthy when it comes to hygiene.
Lewandowski told in his book about the standard hunger meal structure of the American president.
"Trump is ordering a full meal, two Big Macs, two McDonald's' fillet-or-fish's and the addition of a small chocolate smoothie. It's about 2430 calories at a time."
When not close to this agenda, Trump is a huge fan of American pizzas as well as well-made steaks.
A waiter who once served him at a restaurant told of dietary habits we would call intriguing on the verge of weirdness.
"He asked for a well-made steak with ketchup," he said.
"He wanted the steak to be old-fashioned New York meat. As an appetizer he asked for three servings of jumbo shrimp."
Another friend of Trump once referred to the level of making of Trump's steak and noted that "it's much more than 'well done', the steak is really hard at the level of a rock on the plate."
You may be surprised, you may not, but the American president does not actually connect to gourmet restaurants.
How much does not connect?
His tower in New York has a three-Michelin-star restaurant, but when the president goes there he asks the chef for his "special dish," a basic and simple dish that is not on the menu, and does not want to try the other styles in the restaurant.
When it comes to drinking, Trump abstained from alcohol, coffee and died, but drank more than ten cans of Diet Coke a day, according to reports.
As a snack, he loves ruffles or potato chips and of course doritos.
Milkshake and scrambled with ketchup: Joe Biden's menu
How different they are in character and ideology and how similar they are in their eating habits.
The former US vice president is not known as a man who maintains a balanced diet, he too, like his opponent, is a fan of American fast food and sweets.
Like Trump he also abstained from alcohol but beyond that he is indeed a big eater of quite a few foods that include fats, sugars and proteins.
People close to the presidential candidate testify that he is "a die-hard fan of diners and gas station restaurants, considered a fun partner for junk meals but 'suffers' from one obscene habit - he likes to eat a scrambled omelet with ketchup."
According to the same sources one of the favorite chains on Biden is the fast food and ice cream chain "Residents of Queen".
I heard it's #NationalDessertDay pic.twitter.com/RtBhurORwR
- Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) October 15, 2020
In 2016, Biden was quoted as saying, "I do not smoke or drink but I am addicted to ice cream."
How much Biden is addicted to ice cream?
In April, the vice president's staff reported that they had spent no less than $ 10,000 on the ice cream that Biden and his staff ate.
His favorite brand is Jeni's, an iconic brand that originated in Columbus, Ohio.
His favorite flavor is chocolate chips or peanut butter.
Biden, as mentioned, is an avid fan of the Janice ice cream chain, and she loves him back and supports his presidential race, even launching an ice cream named after him: "Big Red, White, and Biden."
By the way, not only ice cream is on the menu of the former vice president, as he also loves giant milkshakes, pies, croissants and a variety of pastries.
Last February during a visit to New York, Biden walked into a branch of the Duncan Donuts chain and dined on the variety of delicious and fattening things the branch has to offer.
Sen.
Kamala Harris: "What's the thing about the ice cream? [Joe Biden] loves ice cream. Tell me about that."
President Obama: "Ice cream is big. Pasta with red sauce, he can go deep on that."
pic.twitter.com/7C9RjqvA3j
- The Hill (@thehill) September 8, 2020
Another love of the former vice president is the Italian food, or, to be more precise, the children's dishes in the Italian food.
Turns out one of Biden's favorite dishes is 'pasta with red sauce'.
"This information was provided by no less than former United States President Barack Obama, who said in an interview in September: 'Every time I hosted Biden and his wife, he ate a lot of pasta in a red sauce, really a lot, and a large bowl of ice cream.'
Another friend of Biden's said: "It's very easy to prepare dinner with him. All you need is pasta with red sauce and parmesan, caprese salad (tomatoes, mozzarella, basil and balsamic), raspberry sorbet and biscotti. Biden himself was previously interviewed by Italian magazine La Cucina Italiana." He said that among his favorite dishes are chicken with parmesan, spaghetti with marinara sauce and of course pizza. "