Donald Trump’s lead lawyer says the former president’s seven-week criminal trial in New York took a physical toll—but he still managed to lose weight by skipping Trump’s notoriously unhealthy meals.
Todd Blanche appeared on a podcast, For The Defense, hosted by the attorney David Oscar Markus.
“Was it McDonald’s for lunch every single day, or did you get something else?” Markus asked.
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“Oh, no-no-no,” Blanche said. “Well, first of all, I didn’t have lunch one day. I ate in the morning and at night.”
“Look, President Trump’s team takes care of everybody. Like, everybody gets food. You know, there’s a lot of food. It’s not always McDonald’s. There’s a lot of… variety. There’s pizza, and there’s other non-healthy alternatives to McDonald’s.”
Blanche smiled, turning away from the camera and raising his eyebrows.
“Look, I loved it, because, you know, you come in from lunch, and as you know when you’re on trial, you’re trying to figure out what the heck you’re gonna stuff in your belly with the hour that you have. And we would walk in, and there would just be this, just, plethora of just food everywhere,” he said, gesturing with his hands.
The public got a peek last Thursday, when Donald Trump Jr. posted a TikTok video from what legal teams sometimes call the “war room,” where defendants strategize during breaks. The clip showed Trump Sr. sitting before a half-finished 20-ounce Diet Coca-Cola, an opened bag of Lay’s potato chips, a box of Milk Duds, a Milky Way bar, a theater-sized box of Whoppers malted milk balls, and what appeared to be four Hostess SnoBalls.
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Blanche chuckled as he noted his refusal to partake. After all, a single serving of each of the above would clock in at 870 calories, a full day’s worth of saturated fat, and more than 150 percent of the daily recommended amount of added sugar.
“I always take trials as an opportunity to lose a few pounds. It’s my own little way to lose weight,” Blanche said. “I think I lost—well I haven’t weighed myself since the verdict, but—seven or eight pounds during the trial.”
Trump’s go-to McDonald’s meal—two Big Macs, two Filet-O-Fish, and a chocolate shake—was first described by close ally Corey R. Lewandowski in a 2017 book, Let Trump Be Trump.
Blanche acknowledged that the trial—in which Trump was found guilty of all 34 felony counts—wore him down.
“I see Todd, on the video, you know you’ve got a few more gray hairs than you did when I spoke to you last, man,” Markus said.
“Yeah! A lot more! Totally!” Blanche laughed, pointing to both sides of his head.
He also addressed the ferocious spat between New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan and Trump’s last witness, MAGA lawyer Robert Costello.
The defense tried to cast doubt on the Manhattan District Attorney’s lead witness, convicted perjurer and former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, by relying on testimony from Costello, who abhors Democrats and showed his disdain for the entire trial, sighing, scoffing, and exhibiting anger. (At one point, the judge kicked out journalists so he could tear into Costello in private.)
“Listen, you can’t do that,” Blanche said about Costello. “Whether you’re a murderer testifying with a cooperation agreement or somebody like Bob who’s been a lawyer for a really long time. The judges run their courtroom, and that’s not unique to Judge Merchan.”
The podcast also revealed that Markus came up with a one-liner Blanche used in summing up, calling Cohen “the GLOAT, the greatest liar of all time.”
Though he maintained that the defense did its best—and noted that Trump was in the co-pilot’s seat—Blanche said, “Maybe enough people will tell me that I screwed up that I’ll change my mind.”
