President Barack Obama was forced to answer one of the more difficult questions he has faced in his presidency on Tuesday and the answer he gave comes as a shock to many. When a child asked the president what his favorite food was the commander in chief gave a quite surprising answer, broccoli, according to The New York Times.
Considering the places President Obama has lived one would have expected him to say deep dish pizza, hot dogs or mahi mahi. Maybe even some sort of god awful Spam concoction that they seem to love so dearly in Hawaii. Instead he went with broccoli.
The president was at the Kids' State Dinner, an anti-obesity event, hosted by First Lady Michelle Obama. The children in attendance had created health-conscious recipes such as "picky eater pita pizza pockets," according to The New York Times.
"Food can be fun," President Obama said. "It can be healthy. You are setting up habits that are going to be great your entire life."
Broccoli was not always welcome in the White House. Former President George H.W. Bush gave a speech where he mentioned his hatred for the vegetable. In response broccoli growers sent broccoli by the ton to the White House, according to The New York Times.
James Norton, a writer at the Christian Science Monitor was not convinced that President Obama was telling the truth.
"Broccoli is no one's favorite food unless it's covered in cheese, in which case 'cheese' is really your favorite food," Norton said. "That said, the president is a politician and a member of the government, both positions that make the dispensing of the absolute truth difficult, if not an outright liability."
Ari Fleisher responded with a tweet that may have been a poorly worded joke but instead came off like attacking the president for eating vegetables.
What kind of POTUS says his fav food is Broccoli? Same one who in 2008 complained about the price of arugula at Whole Foods.
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) July 9, 2013
The Telegraph took the occasion to comment on the favorite foods of some other world leaders and former presidents. Former President George W. Bush had an affinity for BLT sandwiches. The first President George Washington was said to dislike fancy meals and love fruits, nuts and fish. The U.K.'s David Cameron enjoys dining on spicy sausage pasta.
The president's endorsement, whether or not he was telling the complete truth, should be met with a warm welcome from parents everywhere. Now they can trick their children into cleaning their plates by saying, "If you ever want to be president you need to eat your broccoli."
