White House Chef Pulls Back the Curtain on How He Would ‘Manipulate’ Trump’s Diet
A former White House chef spilled the tea on Donald Trump’s favorite meals—and why the president-elect may have a healthier diet than many Americans think.
Chef Andre Rush, who also worked as a chef in the White House for the likes of Trump, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, told Politico’s West Wing Playbook that the upcoming 47th President of the United States likes to keep his meals simple and isn’t the biggest fan of snacking.
While Trump is notably a fan of the classic Amercan meal of a burger and soda, Rush disclosed to Politico that he’d try to “manipulate” the president-elect’s meals to make them healthier by substituting similar items. He added that Trump’s age this time around—78—represents a “big, big difference” from 70, the age he assumed office in 2016.
“I would try to incorporate as many healthy food items as I possibly could,” Rush told Politico on what food he would make for the president-elect in his next term if he were chosen to work in the White House again.
“Especially because he’s known for not drinking water. He’s always been on his soda trip. That’s all he drinks, 24/7. He’s been living off it and says, ‘It hasn’t hurt me yet.’ But that’s a cliche we all go through until it hurts you.”
The chef also added that he’d include a flavoring like orange or lemon to Trump’s water in a bid to get him to drink more of it—and that he’d alter the president-elect’s burgers to make them healthier.
“Instead of doing full grounds, I’ll go half and half with turkey and put a little bit more [flavor] profiles inside of it,” Rush said. “If he wants bacon on it, instead of pork, I’d use beef bacon, which is more crispy and more healthy.” He also added that he’d opt for sweet potato fries or battered fries made out of vegetables as a side instead of the traditional french fries Trump is known to prefer.
The chef also noted that Trump does “try to eat healthy” and that “people don’t get to see that part of it.”
“They just see the part that we want to show on social media,” Rush continued. “I mean, Bill Clinton ate just as many burgers as Donald Trump did.”
On what advice he’d give to future White House chefs about cooking for Trump, Rush said: “Get to know him a lot deeper than what a piece of paper says. Get to his psyche so you can understand why he eats, what he eats and what he does.
“That’ll be the way to encourage and engage him a lot more,” he continued. “A lot of things he doesn’t eat is because he’s not used to it.”
The former White House chef also disclosed that Trump doesn’t really snack—he’s too busy working—and confirmed the rumors that he did have a “Diet Coke button” that would summon an aide to retrieve his beverage of choice.
Rush went on to reveal that the easiest president to cook for was Barack Obama because he “had the garden and wanted to get everything from the garden.”
“The hardest was Trump,” Rush added. “There was not a lot of diversity to it. As a chef, you want to be able to explore and have more fun. With him and [Melania Trump], it was black and white.”
