You’d think the guy who runs the country would have refined taste in dessert. Maybe a crème brûlée habit. Perhaps some high-end imported chocolate situation. But no. Donald Trump’s dessert preferences read like a nine-year-old raided a gas station and then stopped at a Baskin-Robbins on the way home. We’re talking Tootsie Rolls thrown across the Resolute desk, a mysterious candy bowl he summons like a royal scepter, and an ice cream flavor that barely cracks the top 20 in America. Here’s everything we know about the 45th and 47th president’s very strange sweet tooth.
Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream — His Official Favorite Flavor
When Trump told US Weekly back in 2010 that cherry vanilla ice cream was his go-to, nobody really made a big deal about it. But then it showed up on the dessert menu at his 2017 inauguration dinner, paired with a chocolate soufflé, and suddenly people started paying attention. Cherry vanilla is not a normal favorite flavor. According to the International Dairy Foods Association, cherry as a standalone flavor ranks at number 16 as of 2024. Cherry vanilla is even more niche than that — it’s the kind of thing your grandmother orders at a diner in 1987 and nobody else touches.
A few major brands do make it. Blue Bell, Häagen-Dazs, Safeway’s Signature Select line, and Mayfield Creamery all have versions. Here’s a fun coincidence: Mayfield Creamery actually calls their cherry vanilla flavor “Whitehouse.” They’ve been making it under that name for at least a decade before Trump ever took office. No connection, just a weird bit of trivia that writes itself.
The Two-Scoop Rule That Became National News
During Trump’s first term, TIME Magazine reporters sat down for a meal at the White House. When dessert came out, every guest at the table received one scoop of ice cream. Trump got two. This wasn’t an accident. It was apparently standard protocol — the president gets an extra scoop, and everyone else can deal with it. The story spread everywhere and became one of those bizarre little details that defined the Trump White House. It happened again at other dinners. Two scoops of vanilla ice cream with chocolate cream pie for Trump. One scoop for everyone else. Every single time.
When he’s not getting cherry vanilla, Trump defaults to regular vanilla — still a perfectly reasonable choice. But combined with the two-scoop thing, even his ice cream habits became political fodder.
He Literally Calls Candy His “Poison”
Trump doesn’t drink alcohol. Never has. But he’s openly admitted that candy is his substitute vice. According to journalist Michael Wolff’s book “All or Nothing: How Trump Recaptured America,” Trump summons his candy bowl by telling aides, “Bring me the poison.” That’s an actual quote. The White House keeps multiple bowls and baskets of candy stocked and within arm’s reach of wherever the president happens to be working. There’s one kept near the Oval Office at all times for quick access.
Trump himself has called it his “alcohol.” During a meeting with economist Arthur Laffer, Trump said, “You know, there are some people who are addicted to alcohol. But I’m addicted to candy.” He wasn’t joking. One White House official described Trump’s intake during his second term as “an insane amount of candy — just so much candy.”
Pink Starbursts and Tootsie Rolls Are the Favorites
In May 2025, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed what many already suspected. During a Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day briefing, kids of White House reporters asked about the president’s eating habits. Leavitt said Trump eats a “good amount” of candy and specifically named pink Starbursts and Tootsie Rolls as his go-to choices.
The Starburst thing actually goes back years. The Washington Post reported in January 2018 that then-House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy noticed Trump carefully picking out only the cherry and strawberry Starbursts from packages — the red and pink ones. McCarthy, ever the people-pleaser, went out and bought a big supply, sorted out all the cherry and strawberry ones, put them in a jar, and sent it to the president. That’s how Kevin McCarthy became Trump’s unofficial candy man.
Aides Have Rotated Through “Candy Duty”
This is where it gets genuinely strange. During both of Trump’s terms in office, certain top aides have been assigned the rotating role of “candy people.” Their job? Making sure the president has fast, easy access to his treats whenever he wants them. The bowls contain a rotating selection that typically includes Starbursts, Hershey’s Miniatures, Laffy Taffy, and Tootsie Rolls. The habit doesn’t stay at the White House — Trump keeps candy close whether he’s on the campaign trail, at Mar-a-Lago, or governing from wherever he happens to be.
Economist Arthur Laffer got a firsthand look at how this works. During his Oval Office visit, Trump asked him, “Do you like Tootsie Rolls?” while holding up a big candy basket. Before Laffer could answer, Trump chucked two Tootsie Rolls across the Resolute desk at him. Then Trump asked about Milk Duds and handed him a tiny box. Then came the caramels. A meeting with the president of the United States, and the man is handing out fun-size candy like it’s Halloween.
He Stress-Eats Sweets During High-Stakes Meetings
Multiple officials — both current and former — have confirmed that Trump snacks on candy during some of the most intense meetings imaginable. We’re talking discussions about potential bombing targets, military response plans, and COVID-19 death tolls. He’ll unwrap a candy right there at the table and eat it while people brief him on matters of life and death. One former senior adviser recalled Trump eating an “unusually big” amount of candy during his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Make of that what you will.
The Seven-Layer Chocolate Cake at Mar-a-Lago
Beyond candy and ice cream, Trump has a very specific cake he loves. His favorite chocolate cake at Mar-a-Lago is a seven-layer creation made by former pastry chef Cedric Barberet, who has since left to open Bistro Barberet in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The recipe is no joke — it calls for 64% Guayaquil chocolate, gold leaf gelatin, cacao powder extra brute, and a filling made from a mix of milk, cream, egg yolk, and whipped cream. The cake layers are baked at 200 degrees Celsius for exactly nine minutes.
For context, Mar-a-Lago doubled its initiation fee to $200,000 after Trump took office the first time. The yearly membership is $14,000, and members are expected to spend thousands more on food while they’re there. According to Palm Beach gossip columnist Jose Lambiet, the food quality doesn’t always match the price tag. But apparently the chocolate cake is the exception.
He Owns an Ice Cream Parlor With a 2.5-Star Yelp Rating
Trump doesn’t just eat ice cream — he sells it. Trump Sweets is an actual ice cream parlor located in the Trump Tower atrium in New York City. It offers 24 different flavors including, yes, cherry vanilla. You can get your ice cream by cone, cup, shake, or sundae. It sounds like a decent setup until you check the reviews. Trump Sweets has a Yelp rating of just 2.5 stars. That’s lower than most random Dairy Queens off a highway exit. For a guy who puts his name on everything and insists it’s the best, that’s a rough number.
His Overall Diet Makes His Health Secretary Nervous
Trump’s dessert habits don’t exist in a vacuum. His former butler of nearly 20 years, Tony Senecal, described him as a notorious picky eater who likes his steaks and burgers well done and smothered in ketchup. Vegetables are basically banned from the table. “If it’s vegetables he doesn’t want to see them,” Senecal said. “He’s a red-blooded meat-eating American.”
Add the constant stream of candy, ice cream, chocolate cake, Oreos on Air Force One, and McDonald’s shakes, and you get a diet that made even his own Health Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., say, “I don’t know how he’s alive.” Prior to his first term, Trump’s personal doctor claimed he would be “the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.” That statement has aged about as well as a Tootsie Roll left in a hot car.
He Once Vowed to Fix McDonald’s Ice Cream Machines
In October 2024, Trump made a campaign promise that had nothing to do with the economy, immigration, or foreign policy. He said that when he returned to the Oval Office, he would fix America’s broken McDonald’s ice cream machines. At the time, nearly 15% of McDonald’s ice cream machines across the country were out of service. Whether he was serious or joking is anyone’s guess, but for a man who reportedly refused to eat sushi during a 1990s trip to Japan — allegedly saying “I’m not going to eat any f****** raw fish” before opting for McDonald’s instead — it tracks. The man knows what he likes, and what he likes is strange, simple, and covered in sugar.
