The craziest thing about Donald Trump has nothing to do with politics — it's how he likes his steak.
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00:00The craziest thing about Donald Trump has nothing to do with politics, it's how he likes
00:05his steak.
00:06Trump steaks.
00:07Where are the steaks?
00:08Do we have steaks?
00:09Do I?
00:10We have Trump steaks."
00:11Ask any chef, and they'll tell you that ordering a well-done steak is basically sacrilege.
00:16The longer you cook the meat, the more of its juices and fat will leak out of the muscle,
00:21resulting in a dry, chewy, and flavorless piece of beef.
00:25But that's exactly how Trump likes it.
00:27Trump's steak preference was revealed in a 2016 New York Times tell-all interview with
00:33Anthony Senecal, the politician's former butler at Mar-a-Lago.
00:37Describing how his employer liked his steak cooked, Senecal said,
00:41"'It would rock on the plate.
00:43It was so well done.'"
00:51This is corroborated by Trump's first restaurant meal in Washington, D.C., after his inauguration.
00:57His visit to BLT Prime, a steakhouse located inside his own Trump International Hotel,
01:03was documented in a now-archived, independent journal review article.
01:07The reporter had a bird's-eye view of Trump's table from the balcony, and disclosed that
01:11he ordered a $54 dry-aged New York Strip steak.
01:16Well done.
01:17But it gets worse.
01:18He drowned it in his favorite condiment, ketchup.
01:23BLT Prime was the only D.C. restaurant Donald Trump dined at during the four years he was
01:28in office.
01:29According to The Washingtonian, his regular order was always the same, a well-done bone-in
01:34ribeye or filet mignon, with fries.
01:37He was also served by staff adhering to a specific, standard operating procedure manual,
01:43also obtained by The Washingtonian.
01:45In excruciating detail, it specified how Trump's Diet Coke was to be opened and poured in front
01:51of him, and brand-new miniature bottles of Heinz ketchup were to be opened so that he
01:56could hear their caps pop, as Trump is said to have a fear of being poisoned.
02:00While Trump may get a pardon for enjoying well-done steaks, his fondness for eating
02:05them with ketchup is a whole other matter.
02:07The practice is widely reviled because the heavily sweet condiment all but covers up
02:12the taste of the beef.
02:13The choice seems counterintuitive to ordering a pricey, flavorful cut of meat.
02:18It's also somewhat ironic to have a steak cooked until the muscle fibers have squeezed
02:22out all of their juices, then re-moisten it with squirts of ketchup.
02:27While many gourmands would disapprove of Trump's preferences, there are plenty of people who
02:31prefer their meat well-cooked rather than glistening red.
02:34In fact, close to a quarter of Americans prefer their steaks well-done, according to YouGov.
02:39Still, there's a general air of snobbery surrounding a long-cooked slab of beef.
02:45Well-done steak eaters get the restaurant's worst cuts of meat, according to the late,
02:50great Anthony Bourdain.
02:51All the same, it's still your choice.
02:53And as far as presidents go, Trump isn't the only one to love a more well-done steak.
02:59Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama, also liked his steak on the longer-cooked side, although
03:04he preferred a more moderate, medium well.
03:07Other presidents who took their steaks well-done include Ronald Reagan, who liked his served
03:11with chili, Ulysses S. Grant, who had an aversion to blood and only ate meat that was
03:16charred, and Harry S. Truman, who once said that, quote,
03:20"...only coyotes and predatory animals eat raw beef."
03:23But for many, the trademark Trump combo of well-done steak and ketchup is nothing short
03:31of criminal.