Whose meal has your vote?
A food critic took a walk in the shoes of both presidential candidates, eating just as they would for a day — breakfast, lunch and dinner.
And like the views of Donald J. Trump and Kamala Harris, their taste buds couldn’t be any more opposite — aside from some surprise bipartisan support shown for Doritos.
“A day of eating like Kamala Harris was confusing at times, but it all came together to leave me feeling full, happy, and well-rested,” Bennett Rea wrote for Food and Wine.
“A day of eating like Donald Trump left me feeling bludgeoned, thirsty, powerful, and strangely accomplished,” the author confessed.
Before you hit the polls, here’s what to know about the politicians’ choice of meals, which Rea demonstrated in online videos.
The Harris (meal) ticket
The California senator begins with a mellow bowl of raisin bran and some almond milk, according to Rea, who noted Harris often eats over the sink. She skips coffee and usually prefers green tea as well.
Lunch is where things get a little more interesting. Harris often enjoys Indian-style curd rice with unsweetened yogurt, some salt, pomegranate arils, and some spices. Other fixins like coriander, green chile, cashews, and coconut oil are often added in.
For dinner, the sitting vice president — known to enjoy cooking Sunday meals — reportedly prefers a more dense gumbo.
The taste tester made their own at home for the sampling, filling the dish with southern favorites like Andouille sausage, shrimp, chicken, and some New Orleans-style spices.
Bourbon pecan caramel cake was for dessert.
“The curd rice was creamy and salty, the gumbo was herbaceous and spicy, plus the dessert and tea brought sweetness and floral notes,” according to Rea, who noted, “None of her food lacked punch, either.”
“The day was an exercise in power clashing, and even if it started a little rocky, it ended with calm.”
The Trump burger
The Don is a known lover of fast food — especially McDonald’s, where he recently manned fryers in a Philadelphia suburb — since his early days in business, partly due to a well-documented, Rasputin-esque fear of being poisoned through his meals.
Earlier this year on Long Island, the Republican candidate ordered $200 worth of burgers, fries, and dogs at Massapequa’s iconic All-American roadstand for his staff.
Trump wakes up in a bubbly way, downing lots of Diet Coke before 9 a.m., Rea explained, calling it a “hazy way to start the day.”
The former POTUS also skips breakfast typically and has been known to fast for up to 16 hours a day.
On days when Trump has lunch, it may look like what the critic sampled — a searingly well-done steak that’s slathered in ketchup.
“The ketchup was a much-needed addition in terms of safety, as the well-done steak was so dry it would have remained a choking hazard without the tomato-based lubricant,” Rea revealed.
As for dinner, the Queens native turned President tucks in to his beloved Golden Arches.
Rea ordered two Mickey D’s Filet-O-Fish sandwiches, two Big Macs, and a chocolate shake to wash it all down.
“I went about it methodically, channeling Chestnut, Kobayashi, the Black Widow, and my 18-year-old self,” wrote the brave eater.
“As I took the last sips of my chocolate shake, I contemplated whether I should turn all the lights off and lay down or go out into the world and start a fistfight. Both felt right.”
But the next morning, however, Trump’s diet gave Rea the feelings of a collegiate hangover.
“I stumbled through my usual walk around the neighborhood at 8 a.m., searching my calendar to see if I needed to cancel any meetings before taking a half-day to recover.”
