Anthony Bourdain achieved worldwide fame with his show “Parts Unknown,” which is often as much a history documentary on the countries he visits as an examination of their culinary delights.
Bourdain has never been afraid to hold back his opinions, and the sharp-tongued chef is no fan of President-elect Donald Trump. On Monday, he sat down with Helen Rosner of Eater for a interview that largely revolved around politics and what might or might not happen in a Trump presidency.
The first question posed to Bourdain was if he voted. He did, but quickly made it clear he was not a die-hard supporter for Hillary Clinton. However, he said that while living in the same city as Trump for 30 years, he saw enough to know he didn’t want Trump running the country.
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“I’m not saying I know the guy personally, not like I’d hug him, but I’m saying that as a New Yorker, we pretty much are neighbors. And my many years of living in his orbit have not left me with a favorable impression, let’s put it that way,” Bourdain said. “There’s so many reasons to find the guy troubling. When Scott Baio’s the only guy you can find to show up at your convention, you’re in trouble.”
Bourdain is vocal about his support of Mexican restaurant labor. He was asked if he believes Trump will follow through with plans for massive deportations.
“I think it’s going to be hard times,” he said. “Is he gonna do anything near what he promised? Of course not. But he will be forced to do something, by the people around him. He will have to do something, and it will be extraordinarily ugly.”
Bourdain is a bit concerned that a Trump presidency, combined with a hard right political shift in Europe and other places, could affect his worldwide travels for the show. He believes that cost of visiting some countries could become too high.
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“Probably. Which makes it hard. I’ve been trying to get into Afghanistan for years. Kashmir has been difficult, I want very badly to go there. Yemen — that was high up on my list before everything went to hell there. But there are bigger problems. Venezuela, it’s a huge problem to get insured to go to Venezuela. I’ve been there a number of times, but with a TV show? It’s problematic,” Bourdain said.
“As the number of conflict zones increase, as I’m guessing they likely will, I’m wary of looking to Uncle Sam for an understanding face at the embassy — especially given who’s up for ambassadorships now. I can call for help from whoever, but it’s nice to have someone who actually gives a s–t. The last eight years have been very very good. [Ambassadors] have been smart people, for the most part. People who’ve lived in countries for a long time, even before they took the ambassadorships.”