What Biden's been eating on the trail and what it says about his campaign

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President Biden greets people at CJ's Cafe in Los Angeles, Calif., on Feb. 21, 2024. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

President Biden greets people at CJ's Cafe in Los Angeles, Calif., on Feb. 21, 2024.

Everyone's got to eat — including the president of the United States. And lately, President Biden has been sampling it all: boba tea in Las Vegas, burgers and a milkshake in Raleigh and ice cream with late-night host Seth Meyers in New York City.

As Biden has ramped up his travel this election year, he's been making more frequent stops to grab a bite to eat or a drink. The smaller settings offer a chance for Biden to do the kind of retail politics he's known for, but the food and drink choices themselves hold significant symbolism.

"Food is identity and food is inherently political and food is cultural currency. It has the power to connect us and also the power to repulse us. So these are obviously very calculated choices about where to go," Hunter Lewis, the editor of Food & Wine, told NPR.

Biden's recent stops getting burgers and and a milkshake from Cook Out, a Southern fast food chain that Lewis described as having a "cult following." He ordered boba tea in Las Vegas' Chinatown. These stops show Biden, 81, is trying to connect with younger voters, and shake off concerns people have about his age.

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President Biden speaks with reporters while visiting the No. 1 Boba Tea shop in Las Vegas on Feb. 5, 2024. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

President Biden speaks with reporters while visiting the No. 1 Boba Tea shop in Las Vegas on Feb. 5, 2024.

"Age is the question right now and so I think going to a Cook Out, going to a boba tea shop, those are smart moves," Lewis said. "He is projecting that he connects with a younger audience and is in the know."

Boba tea, a Taiwanese drink that's become hugely popular in the United States, also shows an outreach to Asian American voters, who make up nearly 10% of the population in Nevada, a key state for Biden to win in November.

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"Food is definitely a way to humanize a candidate," said Emily Contois, a professor of media studies at the University of Tulsa and the author of the book Diners, Dudes and Diets.

That's important because American voters tend to be swayed by personality, rather than only focusing on issues, Contois said. And the fact that Biden is choosing establishments that serve foods from different cultures sends a message about his politics, in addition to his personality, she said.

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President Biden shakes hands through a take-out window after ordering food from Cook Out in Raleigh, N.C. on Jan. 18, 2024. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images hide caption