On Donald Trump's plate
The 45th President of the United States assumes culinary tastes without finesse. What if his gastronomic preferences betray his political strategy while explaining his tyrannical outbursts?
The most powerful man on the planet lives in the White House, travels in a private jet, and has five chefs on duty around the clock. So what does he do when he's hungry in the middle of the night? He sends his secret services to the nearest McDonald's, of course. The United States has chosen a president who understands the American tradition as a suburban 1950s-style dream, in which a 100% Caucasian and straight population swims in an imperialist abundance. No wonder, then, that his idea of a good American meal necessarily goes through industrialized fast food instead of the very Rooseveltian homemade apple pie.
"There is nothing closer to the people than fast food"
Donald Trump, or junk food in power: Numerous reports through the years have revealed that the president does not derive any pleasure from food (he even compared it to gasoline), and has detailed his eating habits.
Trump doesn't eat breakfast often. Occasionally, this consists of very fried eggs and bacon. The lunch break is not a moment of relaxation at the Oval Office either.
"We should just eat a burger around a conference table, make better deals with China and forget all those diplomatic dinners," he told the Daily Mail in 2016. The billionaire has often been photographed swallowing all the pleasures that McDonald's offers, as well as KFC or Wendy's. During his campaign, he even posted selfies in front of taco bowls, obviously much more effective in his eyes, when it comes to winning the votes of the Hispanic community, than the proposal to erect a wall on the Mexican border.
“There is nothing more American and closer to the people than fast food,” says Russell Schriefer, creative publicist and Republican strategist. “People love the fact that he travels in a private jet with the decorated cabin. 'gold, but by feeding, like them, of KFC. "
His bad eating habits thus become a political strategy intended to separate him even further from the elitist bubble of democratic leaders. No coincidence that Kellyanne Conway, adviser to the Trump administration, contemptuously asserted before the election: "Hillary Clinton? She would never eat Popeyes fried chicken." It's true that Hillary is married to the first vegan ex-president. For their part, the Obamas cultivate a reputation as gourmets: Michelle with her organic garden, Barack with her habit of nibbling almonds as a snack.
But the list of sins that the current president regularly commits against gastronomy is long. He bathes his Kobe steaks in ketchup. He demands frozen French fries in restaurants because he prefers them to homemade ones. He orders his almost burnt meat. And he tackles pizza with a fork and knife, no doubt not unhappy to make New York foodistas cry over their kale salads. "It's to remove the crust: do you know how many calories you're saving yourself like that?" he justifies himself.
No vegetables, no fish, lots of soda
An absurd idea from a scientific point of view, but perfectly valid in a world of "alternative facts", isn't it? Just like when he says he prefers McDonald's to a real restaurant because "it's cleaner; at McDonald's, a single bad burger can cost them millions. And I hate germs." This logic is however not relevant. "Bacteria can proliferate in meat for many reasons. The level of cooking and industrialization is scientifically irrelevant," says Dr. Larry Dibo-Cohen, nutritionist in Paris.
No fish. No dried fruit. He hates vegetables. He drinks more Diet Coca-Cola than water. He claims to have a very heavy dinner. A cartoon straight out of an episode of The Simpsons, as well as a "vicious circle of bad habits that affect his physical but also mental health", diagnoses Dr. Dibo-Cohen, before adding: "He absorbs a lot of fat saturated, bad for the intestinal flora and the colon and, on the contrary, forsakes fibers, omega 3 fatty acids as found in fish, dried fruits, and probiotics. However, it seems proven that omega 3 like probiotics improve the mood. "
