I Ate Like Kamala Harris and Donald Trump for an Complete Day

A lot has been made about Kamala Harris’s cooking prowess –— her knife expertise and luxury in kitchen settings have spawned quite a few assume items. After 4 years of ice cream and angel hair pasta, cooks and personalities from the world of meals and beverage are clearly thrilled on the prospect of getting a gourmand within the White Home.

This contrasts sharply together with her opponent within the race for the presidency, Donald Trump. A germaphobe and quick meals aficionado, the previous president’s best-known culinary achievements embody ordering quick meals for Clemson soccer gamers and having fun with a well-done steak slathered in ketchup. 

In concept, there couldn’t be two extra diametrically opposed presidential candidates relating to meals. And the recipes on Cooking with Kamala and Trump’s “I really like Hispanics” taco bowl don’t let you know a lot concerning the particular person; they let you know extra concerning the fastidiously crafted political persona.

To get to the particular person behind the persona, I made a decision to take two days to eat precisely like Kamala Harris and Donald Trump for a complete day in a completely unscientific experiment based mostly purely on masochistic firsthand expertise. And sure, that meant staring down 4 McDonald’s sandwiches in a single sitting. We’ll get there.

Breakfast 

The Trump breakfast: Weight-reduction plan Coke

Trump prefers to skip breakfast, usually fasting for 12–16 hours a day. As a espresso drinker, I discovered it troublesome to subsist on simply the caffeine from his beloved Weight-reduction plan Coke all morning. Even after downing three earlier than 9 a.m., it was a hazy begin to the day.

The Harris breakfast: raisin bran with almond milk

For Harris, breakfast is equally unceremonious. She usually eats “over the sink,” sticking to traditional Raisin Bran, choosing almond milk as an alternative of normal. Like Trump, she forgoes espresso, although her beverage of alternative is inexperienced tea, giving me a equally small nip of caffeine. Each diets left me absolutely conscious that even at a heart-healthy two cups per day, espresso has gained the battle with my physique; I’m chemically dependent.

Snacks

An surprising overlap within the diets of Trump and Harris? Doritos. Each of them favor the nacho cheese-flavored chip relating to snacks.

Lunch

The Trump lunch: overcooked steak smothered in ketchup

By the point lunch rolled round, I couldn’t wait to ingest a well-done steak with ketchup, regardless that I dislike ketchup and like most meat ready medium-rare. With solely maltodextrin cheese mud and sub-optimal ranges of caffeine in my bloodstream, I cooked the puck of beef till it “curled off the plate,” as described by a former White Home worker. The ketchup was a much-needed addition when it comes to security, because the well-done steak was so dry it might have remained a choking hazard with out the tomato-based lubricant. I fought by means of the steak with a aspect salad topped with Roquefort cheese dressing, appreciating the greens.

The Harris lunch: curd rice

Harris’s lunch is the place the 2 diets actually diverged for the primary time. Till now, the snacks had been the identical and the breakfasts had been comparable. Curd rice, an Indian dish of mashed rice, unsweetened yogurt, salt, pomegranate arils, and spices brightened my day instantly. Filling, scrumptious, and layered with the flavors of coriander, inexperienced chile, cashews, and coconut oil, the dish reset my day as if speed-eating Raisin Bran had by no means even occurred.

Dinner

The Trump dinner: two Filet-O-Fish sandwiches, two Huge Macs, and one chocolate milkshake

Dinner was at all times going to be the Mount Everest of this endeavor. I sat within the drive-through lane at McDonald’s, sipping my sixth Weight-reduction plan Coke of the day (Trump usually drinks as much as 12). The cashier opened the pickup window and handed me my order: two Filet-O-Fish sandwiches, two Huge Macs, and one chocolate milkshake. He requested, “Do you guys want napkins?” and I believed how well mannered it was that he assumed there have been a number of individuals consuming this meal.

I got here house, unboxed my 4 sandwiches and sat all the way down to eat what Trump has been identified to devour in a single sitting. I knew velocity would play a task in whether or not I may efficiently eat this outrageous quantity of meals, so I went about it methodically, channeling Chestnut, Kobayashi, the Black Widow, and my 18-year-old self. As I took the final sips of my chocolate shake, I contemplated whether or not I ought to flip all of the lights off and lay down or exit into the world and begin a fistfight. Each felt proper.

The Harris dinner: gumbo over white rice

Dinner on my Kamala Harris day of consuming was markedly completely different, although nearly as heavy. Gumbo is considered one of her favourite dishes, and I made mine from scratch — the roux, the inventory, the spice combine — taking me nearly two hours, which additionally felt genuine to Harris. She finds peace in cooking Sunday dinners, so zooming by means of breakfast and downing a scrumptious but simple lunch made sense. I’d saved time and house in my day for a hearty bowl of gumbo over white rice. Filled with hen, shrimp, Andouille sausage, celery, onion, plus herbs and spices, the New Orleans regional specialty crammed me up. I’m anxiously ready for Kamala HQ to drop an official gumbo recipe. 

Dessert

The Harris dessert: bourbon pecan caramel cake

Trump’s dessert was included with dinner, however Harris’s got here a couple of hours after I had digested the hefty gumbo. Very like Joe Biden, Harris adores a candy deal with. Along with her being a fan of caramel and chocolate, I loved a heat bourbon pecan caramel cake with a chocolate drizzle. And to unwind, a shower and a cup of chamomile tea.

The aftermath

A day of consuming like Kamala Harris was complicated at occasions, however it all got here collectively to go away me feeling full, pleased, and well-rested. A day of consuming like Donald Trump left me feeling bludgeoned, thirsty, highly effective, and unusually completed. 

Every day felt like one which started with a packed morning schedule, transferring by means of breakfast as extra of a hindrance than a supply of enjoyment. Up till the early afternoon at 1 p.m., each the Harris and Trump diets left me feeling the identical — somewhat hungry, somewhat drained, and deeply in opposition to the thought of a lightweight breakfast.

Whereas Trump’s eventual meals had been constant when it comes to regionality (or lack thereof) and taste, Harris’s had been wildly completely different: Raisin Bran, Doritos, curd rice, and gumbo cowl a large swath of gastronomy. It’s a high-low mix, like one thing off a David Chang tasting menu. None of her meals lacked punch, both. The curd rice was creamy and salty, the gumbo was herbaceous and spicy, plus the dessert and tea introduced sweetness and floral notes. The day was an train in energy clashing, and even when it began somewhat rocky, it ended with calm.

Trump’s dinner was an act of aggression and achievement, and although I couldn’t determine between darkness and fistfighting instantly afterward, I did finally fall asleep that evening. The subsequent morning, I used to be hungover in a method I believed solely alcohol may encourage. The 50-plus ounces of Weight-reduction plan Coke I’d ingested, plus a couple of days’ value of sodium, gave me the identical morning-after feeling as a half-liter of $8 boxed wine. I stumbled by means of my normal stroll across the neighborhood at 8 a.m., looking my calendar to see if I wanted to cancel any conferences earlier than taking a half-day to get better. I couldn’t shake the headache for 3 hours and vowed by no means once more to eat 4 McDonald’s sandwiches in a single sitting until it might be actually, actually humorous.

The upshot

A single meals choice can’t outline an individual — ketchup on well-done steak shouldn’t sign that somebody is with out sophistication and curd rice shouldn’t undertaking that somebody is elitist. When a set of preferences is taken collectively like this, the image turns into clearer.

If I had been to play somewhat phrase affiliation, it might go somewhat one thing like this:

• Kamala Harris: fiery, numerous, random, heat, work
• Donald Trump: daring, salty, low-cost, accessible, frat-boy 

Am I describing the particular person or their diets? I’m keen to wager neither marketing campaign would take concern with 80% of the phrase associations both (“frat-boy perhaps, however who else apart from 19-year-old athletes eats greater than a single Huge Mac at a time?). Most significantly, these two days of consuming lastly highlighted some political frequent floor for Harris and Trump: the supremacy of nacho cheese Doritos. That’s most likely all we’re going to get.