People are interested in presidential food orders because they say you are what you eat. Presidents are kept out of reach. They act differently in public and private. We don’t know them. People want to know who we are and what we think.

One way to learn about a president is through food. We all eat. Presidents eat. We know we have something in common with the most powerful office in the world: food. Can a meal tell us if a president embodies these values? Let’s see what presidents order for steak.

Joe Biden

President Biden likes local food from his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, and nearby areas. He has been known to eat a Philly cheesesteak or two as vice president and now as president.

Ordering cheesesteaks might help Biden avoid mistakes at restaurants. In February 2023, President Biden and his wife Jill ordered the same meal at a restaurant in Washington, D.C. Who does that? Does Biden have a problem trying new things? It’s concerning for a leader of the Free World. A double order is acceptable at a cheesesteak place. Problem solved.

Donald Trump

Trump likes well-done steaks, especially New York Strip steaks with ketchup. But foodies and regular folks know that to enjoy a good steak, it has to be rare or medium-rare. If you don’t do this, you’re a philistine.

Someone who wastes food is a waste of space. But Trump isn’t the only president who has taken his steak well done. Obama, the hope of the world, a voracious reader and appreciator of the finer things in life, takes his steaks medium-well, the second-worst thing. Trump’s steak-eating habits don’t say much about him.

Obama

It’s time to face the facts: Obama, one of our most cosmopolitan presidents, takes his steaks medium-well. He should know better. However, as President Biden said to NBC Philadelphia, “President Obama doesn’t know steaks,” he thinks this is because he is from Chicago. At least Michelle orders her steaks medium-rare, so there’s hope for the presidential couple.

His side dishes might redeem Obama. Obama has said he likes broccoli, unlike George H. W. Bush, who said he didn’t like it. He won’t drink 12 Diet Cokes with his steak like Trump does. Obama likes water. What about the steak? Nobody’s perfect.

George W. Bush

George W. likes chicken-fried steak with gravy, not country-fried steak. This is probably inherited. When his father, George H. W. Bush first arrived in Texas in the 1940s, he didn’t know what a chicken-fried steak was. He ordered it off a menu at a local restaurant, wondering if it would be chicken or steak.

It was a steak. History was made. The dish, with gravy, was a staple in his household, including the White House. George W. probably ate it a lot. There are few vegetables with this steak. George W. is a vegetable-hater like his dad. He ate a lot of chocolate-covered fruit while president.

Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton liked McDonald’s, which might have caused his heart problem. Later in life, he went vegan. He could also eat a big steak with sauce and onion rings. Former White House Chef Walter Scheib told ABC that the president always ate everything on his plate.

But too much of a good thing won’t help after quadruple bypass surgery. In 2010, after a vein gave out, Clinton went vegan. He stopped eating meat, fish, dairy, and other animal products. His meals are different now. In 2011, he told Politico Magazine that he only eats steak once a year.