Move over, Chuck Grassley (R-IA). John Thune (R-SD) might just take the cake for the senator with the biggest sweet tooth.
Thune, who became Senate majority leader last year, is notorious for his love of dessert, according to interviews with several of his Republican colleagues, and especially ice cream, helping himself to the treat at their daily conference lunches and insisting on it for dinner, too.
“He eats more ice cream in a week than you’d eat in a year,” said John Hoeven (R-ND). “As a matter of fact, we’ll go out for dinner and someplace — if they don’t have ice cream, then we’ll have to go find a place that does.”
“He’s got sweet teeth,” added John Boozman (R-AR).
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Thune is far from the only GOP senator who enjoys dessert. I’m told that list includes Jerry Moran (R-KS), Tom Cotton (R-AR), and, of course, Grassley, the 92-year-old president pro tempore of the Senate known for his affinity for Dairy Queen Blizzards (or “u know what,” as Grassley calls it).
Thune’s appetite for sweets, however, is a constant source of amusement for senators baffled by how he stays fit — Thune turned 65 in January and is a trim 6’4”.
“He’s still, like in perfect condition,” Hoeven said. “The guy — I’ve talked to his wife, Kim, and he’s like a freak of nature.”
As for the other senators, Hoeven was indignant they can have so much single-serving Haagen-Dazs and still keep their waistline.
“They’ll sometimes have like two, three helpings — for lunch, for lunch!” Hoeven said. “It’s crazy, these guys — the amount of ice cream they wolf down.”
Thune’s staff tells me that he’s got a pretty broad palate when it comes to ice cream and that, like Grassley, he’s a fan of Blizzards. He’s also partial to malt milkshakes and cream pies — always buying a slice of sour cream raisin when he visits Leo’s Good Food in Redfield, South Dakota, or Al’s Oasis in Oacoma.
Back in Washington, Thune enjoys snacking on Nerds candy and impressed Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) last week with the helping of chocolate pie he took when Tillis hosted Senate Republicans’ lunch.
“Oh man, he was crushing the chocolate pie and the ice cream,” said Tillis. “He’s also got the metabolism of a hamster.”
“He can eat. He’s amazing. I see that man eat stuff that I could not possibly do, I’d be a sumo wrestler,” Tillis added.
The two work out at the gym at the same time each morning, with Tillis describing Thune’s routine as a combination of aerobics and core exercises. So maybe it’s not all his metabolism after all.
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“He’s a beast in the gym,” Tillis said, disclosing in jest that he was sure the stress of the job would finally get to Thune when he became leader last year.
“I said, ‘There’s a safe bet you’re going to have a pot belly by May,’” Tillis said. “I’m telling you, the man is disciplined.”