Saudi caterers prepare Trump a special plate of steak with ketchup while everyone else dines on halal lamb, rice

In anticipation of President Trump's visit on Saturday, Saudi caterers are preparing a special dish to be served alongside offerings of more traditional fare, such as halal lamb and rice, The Associated Press reports. When Trump sits down to dine with the royal family of Saudi Arabia, he will be offered his favorite meal: steak and ketchup.

It is just one pain foreign leaders are taking to make Trump happy on his visit. Despite being a former international businessman, "Trump simply doesn't have an affinity for much international," AP writes. The president does not typically stray from staying at his own properties, where staffers "know his meal preferences and the exact temperature he likes a room set at."

Julianne Smith, a foreign policy adviser to former Vice President Joe Biden, explained that Trump's travels are an ambitious affair as well, requiring him to cross from Saudi Arabia to Israel to the Vatican to summits in Brussels and Sicily.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"The chance of something going wrong — you insult the hosts, you get sick, your boss gets sick, you miscommunicate with your hosts, you make a scheduling error, you need to change the schedule just hours before a meeting, the motorcade get stuck in traffic, or the plane is stranded due to bad weather — is extremely high," she said, adding: "Personally, I think they should cut it back now before they regret it."