14 Presidents Whose Elections Were Defined By Food

In 1992, when vice presidential hopeful Dan Quayle misspelled "potato" at a sixth-grade spelling bee, the nation gave him a good-natured ribbing. But personal embarrassment aside, Quayle might have sensed that his grammar school slip of the tongue could mushroom into a serious campaign bugaboo.

Politicians have long known that the best way to get to a voter's heart is through his stomach. Sure, voters could play drinking games when watching debates, or trade trivia about the favorite foods of any Commander-in-Chief (tip: President Biden has a soft spot for angel hair pasta). But when it comes to stumping on the trail, nothing catches the attention — and appetites — of voters more than a hearty meal.

As a historian, I've come across plenty of election tactics used by presidential hopefuls. Although plying voters with free grub is technically illegal, candidates have long used food strategies to grab the spotlight and reward supporters. Here are 12 food strategies that winning presidential candidates used on the campaign trail — and a few that backfired.

After Andrew Jackson wrapped up his term, his successor, Martin Van Buren, fully intended to whitewash the White House by not just clearing out the stink of cheese and commoners, but to improve the president's diet. Out went the cheese wheels and in came gold tableware and chandeliers to present a more dignified look for the Oval Office and the dining room.

But Van Buren didn't count on critics, many of whom sneered that he was wasting taxpayer money on imported finger bowels more suitable for Buckingham Palace than the White House to line the banquet halls. In their eyes, the president had replaced good old-fashioned fried meats and gravies with champagnes, bonbons, and other French cuisine. 

Now, knowing when to use finger bowls is a sign of etiquette for the dining table, but, as reported by The History Chef, Van Buren's opponents in the Whig Party, especially Representative Charles Ogle from Pennsylvania, railed against the president's frivolous utensils to wash his "soft, white, lily fingers, after dining on Fricandeau de Veau and Omelette Soufflé," considered this luxury a sign of weakness and potentially even considered unpatriotic. Van Buren lost the 1840 election to his opponent, William Henry Harrison.

Political rivals have played dirty ever since George Washington left office. Franklin Pierce is an early example of a presidential candidate who was maligned in the press for his eating habits. The 14th president isn't a known name these days, but back then, it was no secret how much Pierce loved his liquor.

In the 1852 presidential campaign, cartoonists took quill to paper to depict Pierce, bottle in hand, toasting Maine's temperance laws in a mock celebration. Another political cartoon showed Commander-in-Chief Pierce leading the army to battle before straggling behind, clenching his gut in pain, a malady that foreshadowed the cirrhosis of the liver that claimed his life in 1869.

Pierce won the White House, but his administration struggled to deal with slavery and the looming Civil War. Reporters commented cryptically on how Pierce's political troubles took a toll on his health, no doubt making a veiled reference to his drinking. Pierce ended his term in serious physical decline, with his face appearing to reporters as "so ghastly and cadaverous that one could almost fancy he was gazing on a corpse," per Politico. Pierce himself didn't mince words. When asked about his future plans, the ex-president commented, "There's nothing left but [to] get drunk."

William Howard Taft, like Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Benjamin Harrison before him, enjoyed possum dinners, and not just for the protein and fat. As the Library of Congress notes, possums were a favorite among white Southerners and Black Americans alike, and Northern-born presidents hoped to score public relations points with both groups that were normally at loggerheads.

After his victory in the 1908 election, Taft dined with the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. "I have had a lifetime longing to taste 'possum and 'taters.' My visit to the south would be incomplete unless this wish is realized," the president-elect said, as per the Library of Congress. At the feast, Taft and hundreds of civic boosters enjoyed roast quail casserole and persimmon beer. The Chamber of Commerce rewarded Taft's gusto with Billy Possum, a stuffed toy possum that supporters hoped to sell as the successor to Theodore Roosevelt's teddy bear. A marketing bonanza shortly followed, with sheet music, fine china, cartoons, and games that showed Billy Possum shoving Teddy Bear out of the national spotlight.

It didn't work. Roosevelt had spared the bear that became a beloved children's toy, but Taft didn't help sell Billy's image when he and the rest of the nation cooked and devoured the possums that their kids cuddled. Billy Possum quickly vanished into the dustbins of antique shops, while its culinary counterpart fell into obscurity on the American dinner plate.

In 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed a New Deal for the American people, but food wasn't exactly a part of the program. The Roosevelt Administration had a reputation for having the worst food of any presidency, which surprisingly made for good politics. With the Great Depression raging, it wasn't good PR for the patrician-born Roosevelt to host luxurious dinners while everyday Americans went hungry. Instead, he and his wife Eleanor took pride in offering humble fare straight from the figurative discount rack.

But Roosevelt did score political points in one big way. He campaigned to end Prohibition and to bring liquor out of the bathtubs and onto store shelves again. In one of his first memos to Congress after election — his "shortest on record," notes the FDR Library, – the president recommended legalizing the manufacturing and sale of beer. FDR might not have minded an occasional drink, but his goal was more economic than culinary. The projected tax income that would be collected from alcohol sales would generate needed revenue to fund government programs while deflating the coffers of bootleggers and gangsters. For foodies, this meant that the honey-gin and pink lady cocktails that were secretly mixed in backrooms could not only be downed in public but were official contributions to the American palate.

When it comes to making tamales, one of the most crucial tips to remember is that the corn husk is a key ingredient, but it's best to leave them in the compost bin when the meal is over. Corn husks may be high in fiber and nutrients, but they aren't exactly bursting with flavor that goes well with the rest of the tamale.

Unfortunately, novices eating tamales might not realize that corn husks are for peeling, not eating. President Gerald Ford made that unfortunate mistake on the campaign trail in 1976. When visiting the Alamo on a campaign stop to win over Texans, Ford stopped by a plate of tamales, picked one up, and promptly bit off a chunk without bothering to remove the outer husk wrapping. As recounted by Chron, Ford's guide, San Antonio Mayor Lila Cockrell, recalled hearing the gulps from Ford's entourage as the president committed his culinary faux pas.

While Cockrell laughed off Ford's blunder as a human mistake, the whirring cameras said otherwise. Per Vice, one news correspondent claimed that Ford almost choked, and other political pundits wondered if the Great Tamale Incident cost Ford his second term.

When President Ronald Reagan shipped 3.5 tons of jelly beans to his 1981 inauguration, it wasn't just a political stunt. According to the Ronald Reagan Library, the 40th president had grown fond of the fruity candy confections, which had helped wean him off pipe smoking back in 1966. By 1980, jelly beans, especially Herman Goelitz's Jelly Belly brand, had a permanent home on his desk.

But jelly beans were more than just a quick sugar rush. Reagan liked to joke that he could tell much about a person by the way they ate jelly beans. Reagan's nickname was the Great Communicator for his folksy, home-spun demeanor, and jelly beans became part of his persona. Throughout his political career, Reagan handed out jelly beans to dignitaries and guests as a symbol of the simple joys of life that stretched around the globe.

It's no wonder, then, that for his inauguration bash, Reagan went all out with jelly bean Americana. The flavors chosen for the bash were Very Cherry red, coconut white, and blueberry blue (a new flavor Jelly Belly created just for the occasion).

Not every politician counts calories as well as voters. Per the National Archives, in 1777, James Madison took a principled stand against courting the public with food and drink. Running for a seat in the Virginia Legislature during the Revolutionary War, Madison could have enticed voters by offering up rum and vittles. Had he done so, he would have been in good company. Back in 1758, George Washington, having been shut out from an election to the House of Burgesses three years earlier, poured on the libations to prospective voters, and the public swallowed it (via U.S. News).

But Madison was resolute in his beliefs in civic virtue. He rejected using "spirituous liquors and other treats," taking a principled stand to run elections without booze. He lost. A month later, charges were brought up against candidate Charles Porter for bribing his constituents, presumably with excess alcohol. The charges were dropped weeks later.

While Madison separated snacks and states, his wife Dolley left a mark on American cuisine, including the snack brand named after her. In addition to her duties as hostess, the first lady's sweet tooth leaned toward the extravagant, as her fondness for oyster ice cream might suggest.