Gerald Ford's Favorite Ice Cream Flavor Was A Rich Southern Classic

Although he was only the president for two and a half years, Gerald Ford has his fair share of interesting trivia. Due to replacing Richard Nixon's original vice president, Spiro Agnew, before replacing Nixon himself after the Watergate scandal, Ford became the first Commander in Chief nobody voted for on a presidential ticket. His subsequent pardon of Nixon was a hugely controversial move which helped lead to the political environment we live in today. On a slightly more upbeat note, "Saturday Night Live" made fun of him for falling down a lot (even though he didn't actually fall down very often). But what made him tick? What did he really enjoy? Well, butter pecan ice cream, for one — it was Ford's favorite flavor.

Butter pecan is a well-loved ice cream flavor in the South, but it was also the preferred choice of lifelong Michigander Gerald Ford (who may or may not have pronounced the word "pecan" correctly). Whenever he returned to his home city of Grand Rapids, his aides would always be sure his freezer was stocked with pints of butter pecan. And lest you think he was greedy, Ford reportedly shared his favorite frozen treat with his Secret Service agents. Ford had an unusually close bond with his agents, as you might expect from somebody who survived two assassination attempts in a single month.

Gerald Ford was far from the only president to enjoy the cool, sweet taste of ice cream. Donald Trump, in his first term, would have two scoops of vanilla ice cream for pie a la mode. Joe Biden would go viral for his love of ice cream which dates back to his years as the vice president. One of the most famous pictures of Biden features him wearing a pair of aviators going to town on a vanilla cone. (Jeni's made him his own flavor.) And as you can see from the picture above, Bill Clinton had a taste for the stuff, too.

Presidents have loved ice cream for as long as there have been presidents. George Washington wasn't necessarily the biggest fan of dessert, but most of his favorite desserts (like his recipe for "Great Cake") were primarily for entertaining guests. He apparently had a soft spot for ice cream, though, spending a sizable amount of money on ice cream making equipment. Thomas Jefferson also enjoyed ice cream, as attested by the fact he's the one credited for the first written ice cream recipe in American history. In that respect, Gerald Ford and his taste for butter pecan is part of a great lineage of presidents who love a sweet little treat.