Where's the beef?
Trump's host on his India visit is a fervent vegetarian. The White House is apparently nervous about the menus.
President Trump arrives in India on Monday for a highly choreographed visit that includes stops in three cities, a rally for him in the world's largest cricket stadium organized by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a special visit to the Taj Mahal, trade talks, and several meals, including a lavish banquet at India's presidential palace. "The president, whose diet is often a rotation of steaks, burgers, and meatloaf, faces a potential shock" as his itinerary keeps him in majority-Hindu cities where "cows are revered as sacred" and "in some neighborhoods, meat eating is so taboo that it's not done in public," CNN reports.
Typically, when Trump travels abroad, "his hosts usually try make him feel at home with his favorite meal: steak with miniature bottles of ketchup on the side," CNN reports, "but Modi is a devoted vegetarian and plans to serve vegetarian food to the president." The menus won't be finalized until the last moment, and Trump's aides could try to intervene, as this president is not a willing traveler and aides place a premium on keeping him in his comfort zone, people familiar with the trip tell CNN. Vegetarian food, or anything spicy or mildly exotic, doesn't fit in that category.
One person who has dined with Trump on several occasions told CNN that other than the occasional salad, "I have never seen him eat a vegetable." A former official involved in some of Trump's earlier trips added: "I don't know what he's going to do in this case. They don't serve cheeseburgers." In India, even McDonald's doesn't serve beef.
Luckily, CNN repots, Trump will have food waiting for him on Air Force One, and Modi has gone out of his way to please Trump in other aspects of the visit. In Ahmedabad, the Modi government is building a 6-foot wall to hide a slum along a road Trump may travel — the government insists the timing is coincidental.