# Does the U.S. President have food tasters? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 1, 2006, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-u-s-president-have-food-tasters/362879 "2006-07-01T18:35:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-u-s-president-have-food-tasters/362879/21 "2006-07-02T01:04:24Z")
> [@Priceguy](#): > > The Secret Service agents have a job to do, and they do it. Yes, part of that job is to, _when all else fails_, get between an assassin-to-be and the President, but it’s a small part and it rarely comes into play. > > A food taster, on the other hand, would simply be ablative armour, an expendable life. On the other hand, imagine how cool it would be if you could get paid well just to eat meals made for the President? I bet he doesn’t get crappy cafeteria meatloaf that often. ---
**Author:** ![diggleblop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@diggleblop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggleblop)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-u-s-president-have-food-tasters/362879/22 "2006-07-02T01:25:41Z")
My ex’s dad was on Air Force One about a year after G Dubbya got in office. He told me that they do in fact stock the plane withe anything the Pres requests, which is no uncommon. He did tell me however that the President demanded Lone Star Beer from Texas to be on hand at ALL TIMES. lol Crazy hick. Born in Connecticut, but now he’s pure Texan. ha. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-u-s-president-have-food-tasters/362879/23 "2006-07-02T01:26:39Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Yeah, that’s a good point. I always felt a little uncomfortable about that aspect of the service service, where they are supposed to take a bullet for the president. That would make me rather uncomfortable too, if I was the one who did it (which I wouldn’t). “This was _supposed_ to be _your_ bullet, asshole.” ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-u-s-president-have-food-tasters/362879/24 "2006-07-02T01:34:13Z")
> [@diggleblop](#): > > My ex’s dad was on Air Force One about a year after G Dubbya got in office. He told me that they do in fact stock the plane withe anything the Pres requests, which is no uncommon. He did tell me however that the President demanded Lone Star Beer from Texas to be on hand at ALL TIMES. lol Crazy hick. Born in Connecticut, but now he’s pure Texan. ha. Bush the 2nd is a recovering alcoholic. Maybe he wanted to watch other people drink it but it seems like an odd thing for him to request. ---
**Author:** ![diggleblop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@diggleblop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggleblop)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-u-s-president-have-food-tasters/362879/25 "2006-07-02T01:43:09Z")
Possibly, that’s what the guy told me though. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-u-s-president-have-food-tasters/362879/26 "2006-07-02T02:30:32Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > Do you have a cite for that? I ask out of curiousity, not as a challenge to your statement. I can certainly understand the logic in the SS having done so. Here’s one from The Guardian: > [@](#): > > A humble mouse is to put its life on a plate for US president George Bush this weekend - acting as his official food taster to thwart any attempt at a bio-chemical assasination. > **[Thai mouse to risk life for Bush](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/oct/18/animalwelfare.usa)** > > A humble mouse is to put its life on a plate for US president George Bush this weekend - acting as his official food taster to thwart any attempt at a bio-chemical assasination. I’ve seen similar writeups from AP and so forth, you can probably find them with a bit of googling. ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-u-s-president-have-food-tasters/362879/27 "2006-07-02T04:06:00Z")
> [@Drum God](#): > > I don’t believe this is true. I seem to remember watching some A&E or Discovery Channel program about the White House (or maybe Air Force One’s) operation. By way of groceries, an ordinary staffer goes and purchases the groceries for the president. They randomly select the store, time, and groceries. It would be impossible to poison the president since no one would know where the groceries are coming from. For restaurant-type visits, I would think that the same thing would be true. A potential assasin couldn’t pre-position the posion since the visit wasn’t planned or announced. I would imagine that, once the president walks into the McDonald’s, the secret service is going to very carefully observe the meal’s assembly. It certainly may have changed in the past few years; my response was based on a magazine article I read during the first Clinton administration. Apparently he had a fondness for Domino’s Pizza. The White House chef does have to undergo a full FBI background check, though. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-u-s-president-have-food-tasters/362879/28 "2006-07-02T04:32:08Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Here’s one from The Guardian: > > [Thai mouse to risk life for Bush in last line of bio-chemical defence | World news | The Guardian](http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1065769,00.html) > > I’ve seen similar writeups from AP and so forth, you can probably find them with a bit of googling. Many thanks! Interesting article…my first thought, though, was that if the host country is providing the guinea mice, wouldn’t it be possible for somone to develop mice who are immune to the poison of choice? Ah well… ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-u-s-president-have-food-tasters/362879/29 "2006-07-02T04:51:25Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Bush the 2nd is a recovering alcoholic. Maybe he wanted to watch other people drink it but it seems like an odd thing for him to request. He may have fallen off the wagon, though if he did it would be in more papers than the Star. ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-u-s-president-have-food-tasters/362879/30 "2006-07-02T05:22:01Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Bush the 2nd is a recovering alcoholic. Maybe he wanted to watch other people drink it but it seems like an odd thing for him to request. Well, if want to nitpick, he had some sort of problem with drinking until he supposedly quit at the age of 40. But Bush has never ADMITTED to being an alcoholic and I don’t believe any of his closest friends or family have gone public with that revelatio ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-u-s-president-have-food-tasters/362879/31 "2006-07-02T05:37:40Z")
> [@Blalron](#): > > Well, if want to nitpick, he had some sort of problem with drinking until he supposedly quit at the age of 40. But Bush has never ADMITTED to being an alcoholic and I don’t believe any of his closest friends or family have gone public with that revelatio revelation ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-u-s-president-have-food-tasters/362879/32 "2006-07-02T07:06:01Z")
> [@diggleblop](#): > > My ex’s dad was on Air Force One about a year after G Dubbya got in office. He told me that they do in fact stock the plane withe anything the Pres requests, which is no uncommon. He did tell me however that the President demanded Lone Star Beer from Texas to be on hand at ALL TIMES. lol Crazy hick. Born in Connecticut, but now he’s pure Texan. ha. Really? [I thought he was a non-drinker these days](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Bush_substance_abuse_controversy). > [@](#): > > Bush has said he gave up drinking after waking up with a hangover after his 40th birthday celebration: “I quit drinking in 1986 and haven’t had a drop since then.” He ascribed the change in part to a 1985 meeting with Reverend Billy Graham, after which he began serious Bible study, as well as to gentle but firm pressure from his wife, Laura. [3] [4] [5] Friends recall that Bush said nothing of his decision, even to Laura, until many weeks later when they realized that he had not had so much as a single beer in the interim. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-u-s-president-have-food-tasters/362879/33 "2006-07-02T07:15:04Z")
> [@Blalron](#): > > revelation Thanks for finishing that post! I thought the Black Helicopters had blasted you before you could finish typing… ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-u-s-president-have-food-tasters/362879/34 "2006-07-02T07:21:13Z")
Even if Bush doesn’t drink, he may wish to provide his formerly favorite beer to the many people who fly on AF1 with him. ---
**Author:** ![diggleblop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@diggleblop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggleblop)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-u-s-president-have-food-tasters/362879/35 "2006-07-02T07:29:56Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Really? [I thought he was a non-drinker these days](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Bush_substance_abuse_controversy). Out of curiousity, what does requesting a certain beer have to do with him drinking it or not? He (as others have stated) could be getting it for the 500 people that fly on the plane with him. ---
**Author:** ![Hogwash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e57/32.png) [@Hogwash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hogwash)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-u-s-president-have-food-tasters/362879/36 "2006-07-02T07:37:25Z")
More importantly, does he have somebody to chew his pretzels for him? /rimshot ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-u-s-president-have-food-tasters/362879/37 "2006-07-02T21:47:39Z")
I was wondering, what happens when the president decides on the spur of the moment, to eat at a popular, busy restaurant? Are the diners who are already eating allowed to finish, or do the secret service forcibly escort them out and tell them to be on their way? What about other diners who have reservations? Also, what about all the cars in the parking lot? Are they all towed away? And the biggie: What if the owner/head chef just doesn’t think the hassle of the secret service is worth the notoriety of serving the president, and tells the president to find somewhere else to eat? How would that go over? ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-u-s-president-have-food-tasters/362879/38 "2006-07-04T06:32:26Z")
> [@medstar](#): > > I was wondering, what happens when the president decides on the spur of the moment, to eat at a popular, busy restaurant? Are the diners who are already eating allowed to finish, or do the secret service forcibly escort them out and tell them to be on their way? What about other diners who have reservations? Also, what about all the cars in the parking lot? Are they all towed away? And the biggie: What if the owner/head chef just doesn’t think the hassle of the secret service is worth the notoriety of serving the president, and tells the president to find somewhere else to eat? How would that go over? Well, until we can answer the question of whether or not everyone is hustled out or not, the rest of the questions are kinda moot. Largely, I imagine it would depend on the relative personalities of the Prez and his security detail’s head (ie: who would likely win in an argument on whether they should eat at Shenannigans at the spur of the moment), and from there it would depend on the management of the restaraunt. The element of suprise would probably factor in (since presumably any would-be assassins would have little time to prepare in such a case) and there would be Secret Service guys hanging out in the back making sure the food is not tampered with. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-u-s-president-have-food-tasters/362879/39 "2006-07-04T16:36:18Z")
> [@medstar](#): > > I was wondering, what happens when the president decides on the spur of the moment, to eat at a popular, busy restaurant? Are the diners who are already eating allowed to finish, or do the secret service forcibly escort them out and tell them to be on their way? What about other diners who have reservations? Also, what about all the cars in the parking lot? Are they all towed away? And the biggie: What if the owner/head chef just doesn’t think the hassle of the secret service is worth the notoriety of serving the president, and tells the president to find somewhere else to eat? How would that go over? I am pretty sure that the president does not decide to do these sorts of things on the spur of the moment. For all the reasons you state. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-u-s-president-have-food-tasters/362879.md?page=1)