As reporters geared up to ask Vice President JD Vance questions about the Iran war, former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s departure, and the midterm elections, questions took a humorous turn as one reporter asked about his sauerkraut diet amid recent weight loss.
The vice president spoke in the White House press briefing room as journalists gathered for the first time since Leavitt’s departure in July.
Vance began the conference by announcing crackdown efforts against fraud in Michigan’s trucking industry. He then continued with statements on the Venezuela oil deal and the energy market.
Fox News senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy then switched tones to discuss Vance’s diet.
“When you’re the vice president of the United States and one of the first questions at a press conference in the White House is how much weight you’ve lost, you must have gotten very fat,” Vance said, chuckling.
Vance explained his initial plans to give up sugar and social media for Lent as part of his Christian faith; however, he said that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. gave him other ideas for improving his health.
“So I call Bobby Kennedy, and I’m like, ‘I know you’re really into health. I was thinking about giving up sugar, what do you think?’” Vance said. “And Bobby Kennedy says, ‘No, no, no, I’ve got something that’s way better than that.’”
TRUMP OFFICIALS ARE EATING ALL THE SAUERKRAUT THEY CAN GET
The health secretary was the first to adopt the diet of red meat and fermented foods before recruiting Vance, as well as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“Yeah, I eat a lot of high-protein stuff, and I eat a lot of sauerkraut, and let’s just say that if that was Fat Tuesday, ‘Fat Wednesday’ never came,” Vance said. “So, my advice to you is that if you want to lose weight, call Bobby Kennedy, and if you want to enjoy what you eat, don’t call Bobby Kennedy.”