Anthony Bourdain is a badass. He just knows his shit. I tried his hangover cure once, and it changed my life. On his show Parts Unknown, Bourdain sits down to eat exotic meals with some of the most prominent figures around the world. But there’s one man Bourdain won’t share a meal with. And that’s Donald Trump.
In an interview with a CBC news program called The National, Bourdain briefly discusses his meal shared with President Obama in Vietnam while filming Parts Unknown. He appreciates Obama’s clear respect for food. But when asked if he would film a similar segment with President Trump, Bourdain was quick to respond.
“No,” Bourdain replied without blinking. “I’m open to sitting down with anyone who’s nice to me.”
For Bourdain, it has nothing to do with political beliefs or stances on fundamental issues. (He even lists people he’s sat down with whom he doesn’t necessarily agree with, like Ted Nugent and the former chief of counterintelligence for the KGB.) It’s about the way Trump treats food. He’s not about it.
“I don’t think he likes food…he only eats steak well-done, and if he knows how to use chopsticks, much less able to grasp them with those tiny little nubbins, I’d be shocked,” said Bourdain.
We know Trump doesn’t have the most exquisite palate. As The New York Times calls him, he’s a junk food aficionado—revealing that McDonald’s Fish Delights, Big Macs, and Quarter Pounders are his go-to. And he recently just replaced Obama’s lightly salted almonds, with bowls of Frito Lays in the White House. So you can see where Bourdain’s distaste comes from.
As much as I would love to see Bourdain share a meal with Trump (it would be so entertaining), I think he’s pretty reasonable with his decision not to have a sit down meal with the fast food president. I bet most of the reason is that he doesn’t want to listen to Trump talk about himself the entire time. Because when it comes down to it, it’s not about who Bourdain is eating with, it’s about the experience of the meal and the food. And Trump would take all of that away from him.