Being a White House chef sounds like a dream gig. You’re cooking in one of the most famous kitchens in the world, sourcing the best ingredients money can buy, and feeding the most powerful person on the planet. But what happens when the most powerful person on the planet only wants burgers, well-done steak, and an endless river of Diet Coke? That was the reality for Andre Rush, a chef who worked in the White House across four presidential administrations — Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Trump. And according to Rush, one president stood out as the most difficult to feed by a wide margin.
Trump Was “Black and White” When It Came to Food
Rush didn’t mince words in his interview with Politico. Obama was the easiest president to cook for, hands down. The Obamas had a garden installed on the White House grounds and wanted meals sourced directly from it. For a chef, that’s paradise — fresh produce, creative freedom, a client who’s excited about food.
Trump was the opposite. “The hardest was Trump,” Rush said. “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.” That’s a pretty blunt assessment from a guy who cooked for four presidents and could have easily given a diplomatic non-answer. But Rush seemed genuinely frustrated by the lack of variety. When your job is creating interesting food and your boss wants the same five things on repeat, that’s a tough spot to be in.
The Diet Coke Button on the Resolute Desk Was Real
You might remember the rumor that Trump had a button installed on the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office — not for launching missiles, but for summoning a butler with a Diet Coke. It sounded too absurd to be true. When Rush was asked about it, he confirmed it in two words: “That’s true.”
Trump reportedly drinks up to 12 cans of Diet Coke a day, which works out to more than a gallon of soda daily. Rush described it plainly: “He’s known for not drinking water. He’s always been on his soda trip. That’s all he drinks, 24/7.” Trump’s own attitude about it? According to Rush, Trump’s stance has basically been, “It hasn’t hurt me yet.” Rush wasn’t buying it, though. “That’s a cliche we all go through until it hurts you,” he said.
The Diet Coke obsession is so well-known that when Trump was inaugurated for his second term in 2025, Coca-Cola broke its own tradition and provided customized bottles of Diet Coke instead of the classic cola they normally gift to incoming presidents. That’s how deep this goes.
How the Chefs Secretly Made Trump’s Meals Healthier
Here’s where it gets interesting. You can’t exactly tell the President of the United States to put down the cheeseburger and eat a salad. “He’s the president, so you kind of have to give him what he asks for, at least at first,” Rush explained. But once the kitchen staff got to know Trump’s preferences, they started making subtle swaps that he might not even notice.
If Trump ordered a burger, Rush would mix turkey into the ground beef to cut the fat content. Instead of regular pork bacon, the kitchen would use beef bacon — crispier and lower in fat. French fries got swapped for sweet potato fries, or sometimes vegetable fries with a homemade dipping sauce. None of these were dramatic changes, and that was the whole point. You don’t overhaul the entire meal. You inch it in a better direction.
Rush called this “manipulating” Trump’s diet, and he was open about the fact that it required a political touch. “You can’t just go in hard-charging,” he said. “I get to know the principals first, and let them know me, put eyes on me so they can say, ‘Okay, he must know what he’s doing and why he’s doing it.'” The water problem was another challenge. Rush suggested adding flavoring — orange, lime, or lemon — to make water go down easier for a president who treats hydration like an optional activity.
Trump’s Actual Daily Diet Is Kind of Wild
When you piece together what various sources have reported over the years, the full picture of Trump’s eating habits is something else. According to a book written by former campaign officials Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie, Trump often goes 14 to 16 hours without eating. He virtually skips breakfast, maybe grabbing a McDonald’s Egg McMuffin or some bacon and eggs if anything at all. Rush confirmed that Trump doesn’t really snack because he’s too busy working.
When he does eat, the menu is predictable. During his first term, Trump frequented BLT Prime, a steakhouse inside the Trump International Hotel in D.C. It was reportedly the only restaurant he visited in Washington over the course of four years. Servers knew his order by heart: hand sanitizer and a Diet Coke upon sitting down, followed by shrimp cocktail, a well-done steak, and fries. After Trump once complained that another diner got a bigger steak than he did, staff made it protocol to always serve him a 40-ounce tomahawk.
And then there’s the McDonald’s. Trump has said publicly that his go-to order is two Big Macs, two Filet-o-Fish sandwiches, and a chocolate shake. As a self-described germaphobe, he’s explained that he trusts fast food chains because of their standardized hygiene practices. After winning the 2024 election, Trump was photographed eating McDonald’s on his plane with Elon Musk, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Donald Trump Jr. The younger Trump joked that “Make America Healthy Again starts TOMORROW.”
The Two Scoops Thing Actually Happened Too
Remember the infamous two-scoops story? TIME did a profile during Trump’s first term revealing that it was standard practice for Trump to receive two scoops of vanilla ice cream with his chocolate cream pie while everyone else at the table got one scoop. When he’s not having vanilla, he apparently enjoys cherry-vanilla. He also vowed during the 2024 campaign to fix America’s broken McDonald’s ice cream machines if elected. Whether that was a joke or an actual policy position remains unclear, which kind of sums up the whole vibe.
Melania Eats Completely Differently
While Trump is ordering his second Big Mac, Melania is living in a different food universe. She reportedly eats around seven portions of fruit a day, prioritizes drinking water, and occasionally treats herself to dark chocolate. Her favorite restaurant is Jean-Georges at the Trump International Hotel & Tower in New York, where she’s particularly fond of the chicken Parmesan. She told New York Magazine in 2010 that one of the things she loves most about living in New York is the variety of food available. The one thing she and her husband seem to agree on? Neither of them eats raw fish.
Rush mentioned that cooking for Melania was part of the challenge too, though he didn’t go into much detail. It sounds like the “black and white” description applied to both Trumps — just in different ways. One wanted the same burgers and steaks every day. The other had different preferences but was equally rigid about them.
Bill Clinton Ate Just as Many Burgers
One detail from Rush’s interview that didn’t get much attention: he said Bill Clinton ate just as many burgers as Trump did. That tracks with what people who remember the ’90s already know — Clinton’s love of McDonald’s and junk food was a running joke during his presidency, complete with a famous SNL sketch of Phil Hartman as Clinton jogging to a McDonald’s and eating other customers’ food.
The difference, it seems, is that Clinton was more open to other foods too. Trump’s issue wasn’t just that he ate a lot of fast food — it was that he didn’t want much else. Rush said many of the things Trump won’t eat come down to unfamiliarity. “A lot of things he doesn’t eat is because he’s not used to it,” the chef explained.
Rush’s Advice for Future White House Chefs
Rush had some practical advice for whoever’s running the White House kitchen now: “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 also pointed out that Trump is now 78, eight years older than when he first took office, and that “there’s a big, big difference” between cooking for a 70-year-old and a 78-year-old.
Rush also pushed back a little on the idea that Trump eats nothing but garbage. “He does try to eat healthy, but people don’t get to see that part of it,” Rush said. “They just see the part that we want to show on social media.” It’s a fair point. Trump eating a salad doesn’t make the news. Trump eating McDonald’s with Elon Musk on a private jet? That’s a photo that circles the globe in minutes.
Still, when your own chef is openly talking about how he had to trick you into eating turkey burgers and sweet potato fries, the “I eat healthy” defense only goes so far. The man had a Diet Coke button. On the Resolute Desk. In the Oval Office. Sometimes the stereotype is just the truth.
