The TOI correspondent from Washington: The United States once had a president who got stuck in a bathtub. It now has one who may be in danger of getting stuck between two stools: the White House’s “Make America Healthy Again” campaign on one side and Donald Trump’s famously unhealthy relationship with fast food on the other.William Howard Taft, America’s 27th president, remains the heavyweight champion of the Oval Office. At roughly 335-340 pounds, Taft was so large that a legendary tale has him becoming wedged in the White House bathtub. The story probably doesn’t hold water — historians think it was political tub-thumping — but records note that the White House did indeed commission a special seven-foot- plus “Taft tub”, and a contemporary photograph shows four men sitting comfortably inside it.Trump has yet to encounter any comparable plumbing issue, either in the White House bathrooms – some of which he has redesigned – or in his blood vessels. But the president has had his own weighty moments in history. In 2019, at a reported 243lbs and 6-foot-3, he had a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30.4, technically putting him in the obese category.Other reports put him at much less – for instance when he was charged in Georgia in an election interference case, his booking record listed his weight as 215 lbs. Another report in April 2025 put him at 224 lbs, with a BMI of 28 — overweight, but not obese. But as per a medical report released by the White House and cited by the Washington Post, in May this year he weighed 238 pounds.In all instances, the White House — and Trump himself — insists he is in the pink of health. Still, doctors are now warning that the president’s waistline deserves more attention than his usual waistcoat-and-tie camouflage, maintaining that obesity should be a presidential health priority akin to protecting the commander in chief from physical threats.Trump, naturally, has never been one to let calories stand between him and a photo — or potato — opportunity. His culinary preferences are less farm-to-table than table-to mouth: McDonald’s, burgers, fries, steak and Diet Coke. His affection for fast food has long been a staple of the comedy circuit, with late-night hosts routinely feasting on the president’s diet. Although one comedian joked that Trump has “the thinnest fat skin of any human,” weight is one area where the President has cheerfully embraced the jibes, once telling a reporter that he has “good genes” and his habits might not matter much.More recently, he has been even more Trumpian about it. Discussing advice from Mehmet Oz — a TV presenter who is also the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — to lose weight, he joked: “I went on his show and he determined that I should lose weight,” adding that he told Oz, “I don’t need you saying that in front of millions of people.”This is where the White House menu gets deliciously contradictory. Trump’s Health Secretary Robert Kennedy has made “Make America Healthy Again” the administration’s dietary gospel. His campaign urges Americans to eat “real food,” cut down on ultra-processed products and sugary drinks, and emphasize nutritious, minimally processed meals. Kennedy recently launched a program encouraging hospitals to replace deep-fried and ultra-processed fare with healthier food. In other words, Kennedy wants America to put down the fries while Trump is busy handing them out.Trump has demonstrated his culinary populism by serving burgers and fries on several occasions at the White House, whole his preference for burgers and coke are frequently on display. The president and his health secretary thus appear to be conducting a curious two-man experiment: one is telling America to eat its vegetables while the other is disdaining them.The contradiction is not merely comic; America has a serious weight problem. Federal health officials say six in 10 Americans have at least one chronic condition, while roughly 40% are diabetic or prediabetic. So perhaps the greatest challenge for MAHA is not just getting Americans to eat better; It is getting its most famous principal to lead by example. Fat chance, in the eyes of most Trump watchers.