President-elect Donald Trump, left, shakes hands with President Barack Obama before the 58th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington (Fox News)
On Jan. 20, 2017, Donald J. Trump was sworn in as the president of the United States in a peaceful transition of power. The past eight years under President Barack Obama have been rocky at times, but whether you liked him or support his successor or not, his term has finally come to an end and the era of President Trump has officially begun
Ideologically, these two presidents couldn’t be more different, but their dissimilarities don’t stop at their political beliefs — they carry over to their dietary preferences. Through the Affordable Care Act, the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, and the White House garden, Obama and former First Lady Michelle encouraged Americans to pay more attention to their diets. Obama eats a variety of vegetables from the White House garden (or, well, he used to), along with fruits, nuts, salmon, and just the occasional cheeseburger. According to his last physical, Obama is 6 feet tall, weighs 175 pounds, and is in excellent overall health.
Trump’s diet, however, is more reflective of the way the general American public eats. He has proudly articulated a love of fast food, especially McDonald’s, KFC, and Wendy’s, because he proclaims that these foods are guaranteed to be safe from any contaminants. (He has been conspicuously silent about Chipotle.) Trump also has a strange obsession with calories and carbs. He’s been known to scrape off and eat the cheese and other toppings from his pizza and ignore the dough (how very un-New York of him), and he drinks a lot of Diet Coke. A letter from his personal physician shows that Trump is on the border of being overweight and obese, but, despite this, his physician said “he would be the healthiest person ever elected president.”
Here are the eating habits of Presidents Obama and Trump, compared.
Obama’s Inauguration Menu
Obama’s 2009 inauguration lunch menu featured dishes inspired by the winter season and the bicentenary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. It included stew of sea scallops, shrimp, lobster, and cod in a cream sauce, baked in a terrine covered with puff pastry; then came a winter vegetable medley and a “brace of American birds,” such as duck and pheasant. Dessert was a cinnamon-apple sponge cake.
Trump’s Inauguration Menu
Trump’s inauguration menu embodies the new president with a selection of his personal favorite foods. The full menu includes Maine lobster and gulf shrimp served with saffron sauce and peanut crumble; Angus beef with dark chocolate and juniper jus; and chocolate soufflé with cherry vanilla ice cream.
More From The Daily Meal
Obama’s Favorite Meal: Cheeseburgers
If he could have only one meal for the rest of his life it would probably be a Cheddar cheeseburger. Obama tends to indulge in these guilty pleasures when he’s on the road, but when he’s home, wife Michelle swaps in a leaner turkey burger in place of a ground beef patty.
Trump’s Favorite Meal: Meatloaf
On his birthday, Trump’s sister Maryanne makes his family’s special meatloaf. He is a fan of all types of American-inspired diner fare, but meatloaf is his ultimate favorite.
Obama’s Favorite Snacks: Apples and Trail Mix
Obama needed a steady stream of energy to stay focused during his eight years in the White House. He kept a giant bowl of apples on the Oval Office coffee table to satisfy those late-afternoon munchies. He also had mixed nuts on hand for when he got a snack craving.
Here are the Rest of The Different Eating Habits of President Trump and Obama