Donald Trump’s not all bad: He likes fries with that!

It may come as a surprise to many readers of the Review-Journal, but I’m writing today to endorse Donald J. Trump.

His palate, that is.

While I disagree strongly with most of things that come out of Trump’s mouth, I heartily endorse many of the things that go into it.

Trump celebrated clinching the Republican nomination with a Big Mac. Following campaign rallies, staffers often stock his 757 with the classic McDonald’s staple, along with their irresistible fries, Trump adviser Tana Goertz told Nevada delegates to the GOP convention in Cleveland.

To which I say: Right on. Got room for one more person on that plane?

The New York Times on Tuesday ran a piece on Trump’s diet, replete with a photograph of the hungry candidate smiling carnivorously as he prepared to dig into a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy. I think the Grey Lady was judging Trump for what a headline writer called “his lowbrow culinary preferences.” I, too, was judging Trump, and my judgment was this: Pass those potatoes, sir! And I’ll take a leg, if you don’t mind.

The Times mentioned how out of place Trump’s culinary preferences are “in an era of gourmet dining and obsession with healthy ingredients,” where President Obama parcels out his lightly salted almonds and first lady Michelle Obama maintains a vegetable garden and bee hive on the South Lawn of the White House.

Yuck, replied millions of Americans who prefer the taste of the Quarter Pounder with Cheese to quinoa, which most cannot spell or pronounce. (Yes, I had to have the spell-checker help me type that word.)

Republicans have long identified with regular folk when it comes to culinary preferences. Democrats are more likely to be found searching for the best organic granola. President Obama famously complained about the price of arugula at Whole Foods, while John Kerry likely torpedoed his presidential candidacy among South Philly voters by asking for his cheesesteak with … Swiss? Mitt Romney claimed to be a fan of the jalapeño chicken sandwich at Carl’s Jr., although I recall doubting whether he could name another item off the Carl’s menu. (Most awesome answer: The Six-Dollar Western Bacon Cheeseburger!)

Bill Clinton today maintains a careful vegan diet in the wake of major heart surgery perhaps occasioned by his eating habits in the 1990s, when he governed and dined more like a Republican.

Now, it’s not as if Hillary Clinton insists on stops at the French Laundry or snacks only on specialty boxes from Dean &Deluca. She showed up at a Chipotle back in April to pick up a chicken burrito bowl.

But it’s nothing like Trump. In fact, the only potentially damaging revelation in the Times piece was that he allegedly ate a slice of New York pizza with a plastic knife and fork! C’mon, Trump! Everybody knows you fold, insert and chew!

Let’s not get carried away and conclude Trump’s middle-class dining preferences mean he’s actually middle-class. He may eat from the drive-through, but he does so at 30,000 feet on a plane bearing his name on the side. And, as his economic plan unveiled Monday shows, he’s more sympathetic to the class of people who prefer foie gras to fries. In that sense, Trump’s culinary preferences are remarkable in that he could eat whatever he wants, but still chooses the happy meals. Many Americans lack those same options.

But that’s a bummer — let’s end on a happier note: I would like to invite Mr. Trump to formally accept my endorsement down at In-N-Out, where “animal style” describes more than his method of campaigning. I promise that once he tastes a Double-Double, he’ll be forced to admit that America is great again already!

Steve Sebelius is a Review-Journal political columnist. Follow him on Twitter (@SteveSebelius) or reach him at 702-387-5276 or SSebelius@reviewjournal.com.