President Barack Obama made the most of a visit to the Midwest on Monday, stopping by the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines to mingle with voters and enjoy the festivities.
Although he paused often to chat with passersby and "tak[e] pictures with babies," according to the White House pool report, the president had more immediate goals in mind than just reelection -- specifically, pork chops and beer.
According to the pool report:
Cookie Smith, 16, was manning [Ginnie Smith's Gourmet Mini Cinnamon Rolls] booth and tried to get Potus to take a cinnamon roll. "Will you have some?" He declined. "I'm saving my space for pork chop on a stick," Obama said.
At another stand across the street, he declined a smoothie. "Smoothie sounds OK, but a beer sounds better," he said.
Later on, Obama stopped by the Bud Tent for a icy cold beverage, drawing the ire of Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who tweeted:
As Politico notes, the Secret Service routinely arrives at venues hours before the president, to scout the location and minimize potential security risks. Monday was no different: Obama's security unit arrived at the Bud Tent at around 5 p.m. Mike Cunningham, the tent owner, told the president during his visit that business dropped sharply after the Secret Service appearance.
Obama appeared sympathetic to Cunningham's plight, encouraging fairgoers to bring their business to the tent -- "Hey everyone who's over 21, you gotta buy a beer!" -- and offering to purchase drinks for 10 individuals, while the crowd chanted behind him, "Four more beers!"
Before the end of the evening, beer in hand, Obama would also procure "two fat, juicy-looking pork chops," though not without one last set of difficulties:
Potus took his pork chops to the stand to eat. Then he turned around and yelled out:
"Someone's gotta have a knife and fork!"
CORRECTION: In an earlier version of this article, the location of the Iowa State Fair was misidentified. The fair is in Des Moines.
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