Is Trump's Racism Making People Fat?

Trump blames cheeseburgers.

“A conservative is a man who is too cowardly to fight and too fat to run.” Elbert Hubbard

He may be a monster in some people’s eyes, but he’s no racist. “I’m the least racist person you’ll ever meet,” Trump told reporters on the White House lawn. It’s best to give him the benefit of the doubt. Other things are on his mind these days, the most nagging being whether a “quid pro quo” deal existed with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky.

The term “quid quo pro” has caused all kinds of anxiety and angst, mostly because nobody’s sure if it even exists without being expressed verbally.

During testimony, two Republicans asked Ambassador Gordon Sondland if he’d actually ever heard “quid pro quo” mentioned in meetings. Sondland could have said, “With the exception of Trump himself, I can’t think of any.” Instead, he shrugged, looking at his lawyer who shrugged as well. The Republicans figured they had him there. So did Trump later when he kept repeating, “I said I wanted NOTHING. NOTHING! NO QUID PRO QUO!”

The closest I’ve come to quid pro quo is the dog fetching my slippers in exchange for table scraps. I don’t feed him table scraps. He eats my slippers, instead. It’s a lousy form of quid pro quo, but nothing’s perfect.

This will be debated in law schools for years to come. Not by me, fortunately. The closest I’ve come to quid pro quo is the dog fetching my slippers in exchange for table scraps. I don’t feed him table scraps. He eats my slippers, instead. It’s a lousy form of quid pro quo, but nothing’s perfect.

Anyway, these impeachment hearings are showing the many damning aspects of the Trump administration, not the least of which includes obesity.

That’s what Brittney Cooper, a professor at Rudger’s University, claimed the other week. According to her, Trump’s policies, particularly health care reform and lack of insurance, are responsible for black female obesity.

Speaking on Oprah Winfrey’s Network “Black Women OWN the Conversation,” Cooper says the lack of good health care and access to insurance is increasing stress, which changes metabolism.

The fact that Trump is fat, and many of his supporters are fat, could lead one to conclude that racism affects both sides.

“It’s literally the racism you’re experiencing,” she said, citing a 1990s study by Dr. Arline Geronimus showing black women have physiological stress responses to racial stimuli that affects long term health.

In other words, it’s making them fat.

The fact that Trump is fat, and many of his supporters are fat, could lead one to conclude that racism affects both sides. On the other hand, socioeconomic factors play a role, too, including cheeseburgers.

When I say socioeconomic factors, I’m talking about the actual dollar you have in your pocket, and what you do with it. We all want the best value for our money, and nowhere is that more apparent than with food.

If a dollar is all we have, and we’re hungry, all the racism in the world isn’t going to interfere with our food choices. We want to fill ourselves up.

When dealing with stress in our lives, we want comfort food. Translate that to mean “fast food.” The faster we find comfort, the happier we are. If we’re dealing with racial stimuli, that includes cheeseburgers.

Minorities need their “comfort fix” as much as Trump, so you could call cheeseburgers the bridge between rich and poor.

Trump is no angel when it comes to cheeseburgers. He eats a lot of them. But so do the people most affected by what Cooper calls Trump’s “racist policies.” Minorities need their “comfort fix” as much as Trump, so you could call cheeseburgers the bridge between rich and poor.

In fact, nobody understands this bridge better than fast food giant, MacDonald’s. They’ve been accused of feeding minorities cheap food loaded with calories, trans fats and added sugars. MacDonald’s claims they’ve introduced healthy foods like salads, fruits and yoghurts, only to have people choose cheeseburgers.

In a New York Times article back in 2006, writer Melanie Warner remarked that before the Dollar Menu came along, MacDonald’s was attempting a move to healthier foods. It was a bust. Salads were dragging sales down. What brought them back up again were, you guessed it, cheeseburgers.

Richard Adams, a former MacDonald’s executive, claims the average franchise store sold roughly 50 salads a day back in 2006. At the same time, they sold over 300 cheeseburgers a day from the Dollar Menu.

Rich people can afford cardiologists, heart medicine — even hearts. The poor get cheeseburgers.

That represented a 33 percent increase in revenue sales. It wasn’t making minorities with limited budgets any richer, but MacDonald’s said it doesn’t have a choice. People want a good deal. They also like feeling full. If that appeases “racial stimuli” it’s still a sale in their eyes.

Brittney Cooper argues that it’s only making poor minorities fatter, blaming Trumpist policies more than calories. Rich people can afford cardiologists, heart medicine — even hearts. The poor get cheeseburgers.

Fast food and racism have been running neck and neck for years. Some call it “going steady,” the result of poor self-esteem mixed with poor diet. In a Baltimore Study, obesity was directly linked with poverty. Faced with lack of opportunity and low-paying jobs, the Golden Arches is a talisman.

Talismans are supposed to bring luck. MacDonald’s feels lucky. Their double cheeseburgers are selling like crazy. Salads obviously aren’t. Have they ever tried selling salads for the same price as double cheeseburgers?

Fries go with cheeseburgers. Salads go with rabbits.

Well, they tried offering salads as a substitute side instead of fries. They say it bombed. Fries go with cheeseburgers. Salads go with rabbits.

Copper believes this only adds to the idea that racism causes obesity. We can blame cheeseburgers, but obviously MacDonald’s isn’t in the business of making people thin. Whether this classifies as racism or not, Cooper thinks it does. She thinks Trump needs to put down his Big Mac and help minorities.

According to her, education and better skills will improve self-esteem, and hopefully “racial stimuli” will decrease accordingly. It’s a nice thought, except people still want cheeseburgers — and not just minorities.

MacDonald’s points out that rich people eat fast food, too. In fact, the percentile isn’t much lower than with poor people. Warren Buffett claims he eats “like a six year old.” Trump eats like he wants to bring down AirForceOne.

He even bragged on Twitter saying, “I served them [Clemson national football champions] massive amounts of Fast Food (I paid), over 1,000 hamberders. Within one hour, it was all gone. Great guys and big eaters!”

He’d also be the first to deny his policies are making people fat. Look at his own fatness. That’s fast food. Mostly cheeseburgers.

Okay, the spelling’s a bit dicey, but you can tell he’s a big supporter of cheeseburgers. He’d also be the first to deny his policies are making people fat. Look at his own fatness. That’s fast food. Mostly cheeseburgers.

The rest of the country — including minorities — will just have to accept responsibility for their own obesity. Put the blame on cheeseburgers, not him. As he would say, “There’s no quid pro quo with these burgers! It’s a straight deal. You buy’m, you eat’m, you loosen your belt and eat more!”

He’s probably eating a cheeseburger now.

Of course it’s bad, nobody’s saying it isn’t.

He likes his cheeseburgers. Unfortunately, we all do.

Robert Cormack is a satirist, novelist and blogger. His first novel “You Can Lead a Horse to Water (But You Can’t Make It Scuba Dive)”is available online and at most major bookstores. Check out Skyhorse Press or Simon and Schuster for more details.