For years, Donald Trump folded processed food into his larger-than-life persona, regularly reaching for cheeseburgers and fries while insisting—without hesitation—that he’s physically fit and in “great shape.”
The contrast becomes harder to ignore as the sheer scale of his fast-food routine comes back into focus. A habit once brushed off as a quirky indulgence is now viewed as excessive, undercutting Trump’s fitness claims and turning his diet into a liability.
Long before the former real estate mogul ever stood behind a podium or boarded a campaign plane, McDonald’s had already secured a permanent spot in his comfort-food rotation.
For a generation raised in the 1980s, the McDonald’s jingle lodged itself in the brain for good. Decades later, according to a recent Wall Street Journal profile, it appears Trump never outgrew that era, still ordering the same heavy signature meal as if the drive-thru never closed.
“Big Mac, Filet-O-Fish, Quarter Pounder, French Fries / Icy Coke, Thick Shake, Sundaes, and Apple Pies.”
In a piece headline “As Signs of Aging Emerge, Trump Responds With Defiance,” three journalists detail the president’s irritation with public focus on his health. The article notes that Trump, the oldest person to assume the presidency, maintains that his eating habits are unchanged, even as attention swirls around bruising on his right hand, moments of apparent fatigue, and visible swelling of his feet and ankles.
It framed his diet as part of a long-standing pattern rather than a recent indulgence, pointing to a now-private 2025 “Chambers, Changes, & Conversations” interview with Joe Gruters, where he described being stunned by Trump’s McDonald’s order while traveling with him during the 2024 campaign.
Gruters, the Republican National Committee chairman, said, “He had hot fries waiting for him from McDonald’s. Then he had a Filet-O-Fish, a Quarter Pounder, and a Big Mac, and I think he combined two of them.”
Once those specifics circulated, social media reacted immediately.
😉▼😉▼😉 pic.twitter.com/LhxuyEsC00
— Pier Walker (@walkthepier) January 1, 2026
Daily Mai readers had some of the most colorful comments.
One commenter joked, “McD never molds because it’s basically plastic….. this is why he will live forever!”
Another added, “That’s disgusting. No wonder everyone says he smells so terrible and is severely obese. Ha ha. Pig.”
A sharper response read, “And he’s the one calling reporters ‘piggy.’ Takes one to know one.”
The irony is hard to miss. Donald Trump has a long history of mocking reporters and opponents over their weight, even calling some “piggy.” Those insults now read differently as the focus shifts to his own fast-food habits, creating an uncomfortable contrast he can’t easily laugh off.
Even Gavin Newsom has taken shots at Trump’s eating habits, using a well-timed joke to flip the script and turn Trump’s diet—and fitness bravado—into part of the punchline, also aimed at Pete Hegseth for publicly criticizing the U.S. military’s physical fitness standards.
Over the years, several celebrities have publicly mocked or claimed Trump smells bad, though only one has described a firsthand experience. On the “Daily Beast” podcast, writer E. Jean Carroll said, “He didn’t smell so good.”
Others have framed the claim as ridicule rather than personal reporting. Former Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger once claimed that Trump had a noticeable and unpleasant odor.
I've always wondered about that
— Yasmine Mary, ARNP-FNP-C 🇺🇸 🦅 (@yazzy1967) December 16, 2023
Comedian Kathy Griffin, who spent a brief time with Trump while appearing as a guest on “The Apprentice,” shared the same sentiment on “The Mary Trump Show.”
“Donald has a distinct smell that doesn’t get enough press,” Griffin told Trump’s niece, adding that he smelled “like body odor with kind of like scented makeup products.”
Regarding her time on the show, Griffin posted on X, “Oh, God, I was never contestant. However, I did participate in two challenges. One I did because of my dear departed, beloved Joan Rivers. The other one I did because Trump paid me a bunch of money to spend the day with Liza Minnelli and host a challenge. Liza and I tried to ignore him, but he does smell really bad.”
Howard Stern, who once socialized with Trump, has cracked that he appears “sweaty” and implied an unpleasant odor, and Chelsea Handler has echoed the refrain, quipping that he “looks like he smells bad.”
IT'S COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE TO SEE A FAT COMMANDER IN CHIEF IN THE HALLS OF THE WHITE HOUSE! pic.twitter.com/hZtRdJG8b7
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) September 30, 2025
Others pushed back on the Trump pile-on. One reader wrote, “I assume his doctors have advised him to cut back on the cholesterol packed/calorie jacked meals. And for all we know, he has. He had a CT that showed no serious issues with his coronary arteries. Can we stop with all this medical detective foolishness now?”
Another defended him by saying, “He doesn’t drink, smoke or have any health issues, so leave him be. Also, have you seen how SMALL the food items at McDonalds have become? What he ordered is what any normal teenager would eat.”
Trump’s attachment to McDonald’s has been documented well before his current term.
A 2016 CNN town hall with Anderson Cooper offered an early glimpse into how Trump defended his fast-food habits, portraying them as predictable and controlled rather than indulgent. That framing resurfaced in the 2017 book “Let Trump Be Trump,” where former aides described travel days structured around sealed snacks and familiar chains, revealing how comfort and routine quietly guided his eating habits.
Former Trump campaign officials David Bossie and Corey Lewandowski stated in the book, the former reality star once ordered on the road “two Big Macs, two Filet-O-Fish and a chocolate malted” and that, “on Trump Force One, there were four major food groups: McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, pizza and Diet Coke,” according to People.
By the 2024 campaign, Trump had leaned into that reputation rather than away from it.
President-elect Donald Trump's health secretary pick, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was seen enjoying a McDonald's meal with Trump just days after both pledged to "make America healthy again." The fast-food outing has sparked debate given their recent health-focused campaign promises.… pic.twitter.com/YHMZAK5Y24
— The Finance 360 (@thefinance360) November 18, 2024
He staged a McDonald’s stop, worked the fry station, then joked about it publicly, turning brand familiarity into political theater.
Then there is his appearance at the McDonald’s Impact Summit in Washington, where he spoke to company leaders and franchise owners while weaving stories about campaign travel and fast food into his remarks.
