Joe Biden loves pumping iron and smashing chocolate cookies, say aides

US President Joe Biden has the "tastes of a five-year-old". Photo / AP

When 78-year-old US President Joe Biden wakes up in the morning, the first thing he does is head to the weight room to pump some iron.

After he's worked his biceps, he pops on CNN or MSNBC's breakfast shows and plunges into a heavily regimented and sometimes surprising routine for a man approaching his 80s.

According to interviews by the Washington Post with seven people familiar with Biden's daily routine, he lives a generally healthy lifestyle but has the "tastes of a five-year-old".

They say he loves to drink orange Gatorade and snack on chocolate chip cookies through the day, which are his favourite.

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He loves them so much he has reportedly stocked the outer Oval Office with individually wrapped chocolate chip cookies and salt water taffy from Dolle's, a boardwalk lolly shop in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware – where he has a holiday home.

The sources say he works this all off in his morning exercise routine and meets regularly in person with a trainer.

US President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden. Photo / AP

While campaigning for the presidency, Biden could be seen riding his bike. He also has a Peloton stationary bike, although it's unclear whether he brought it with him to the White House.

Security concerns over whether or not he should bring the bike with him were intensified earlier in the month when it was revealed that a bug in the technology exposed users' private information.

Once he's finished his workout and caught up with the morning's news, he walks to the Oval Office to get the closed-door Daily Intelligence Briefing with Vice President Kamala Harris.

He also has lunch once a week with Harris – a tradition he carried with him since being vice-president to Barack Obama.

His aides said his favourite meal is soup and a salad – usually a chopped salad with grilled chicken.

If he's on the move, he usually brings food like a protein bar, travel-sized orange Gatorade and a peanut butter and jam sandwich.

Despite the busy morning routine, Biden limits himself often to just one or two brief public appearances a day.

His aides say he only travels sporadically (partly due to the pandemic) and spends his weekends at his family home in Wilmington.

His aides described the President as a "night owl".

They say he usually returns to the White House residence around 6-7pm. He also holds calls with advisers after dinner.

Every night before bedtime, the President phones his son Hunter, who has struggled with addiction. If he doesn't answer the call, Biden will text him.

Finally he looks over his itinerary for the next day, hits the sack and starts all over again.

How does Biden's routine compare to Trump's?

Former US President Donald Trump. Photo / AP

Biden's routine has been criticised by Republicans who say he clearly doesn't have the "energy" of his predecessor Donald Trump – who would be tweeting into the early hours of the morning.

"At no time, having known Joe Biden for quite some time, does he have the energy of Donald Trump," House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said on Fox News this month. "Donald Trump didn't need to sleep five hours a night, and he would be engaged."

However, Democrats have responded by saying that Biden is more focused and spends his time listening to people.

According to various media reports, Trump would wake up at 5.30am every day and, without even having a coffee, would launch into making calls by 6am.

He would also only slept three to four hours a night, which he described as a success tactic. "How does somebody that's sleeping 12 and 14 hours a day compete with someone that's sleeping three or four?" he asked.

Sources said Trump would spend almost all morning watching Fox News and tweeting before hitting the office at 11am.

In terms of his diet, Trump loved Diet Coke so much he had a button on his desk that summoned a butler with an ice cold can, but he reportedly wasn't a fan of breakfast.

"I will have a lunch, but my big thing is dinner," he told reporters in 2016.

Leaked documents to Axios showed he spent nearly 60 per cent of his working days in blocks of "executive time".

These unstructured blocks were scheduled at the President's discretion and weren't listed with specific activities, unlike meeting with administration members and hosting world leaders.