Chef José Andrés responded to a post from President Donald Trump supposedly firing him from an administration role to explain that he had already resigned from the position.
The revered Spanish-American restaurateur, who was appointed to the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition in 2022, was one of four Biden appointees who Trump claimed to be purging from his new administration in a late-night Truth Social post at the end of his first day back in power.
Trump’s post—which also named Mark Milley, the former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff—said the dismissals were the first of over a thousand Biden appointees who “are not aligned with our vision to Make America Great Again” and are therefore being “FIRED.”
In response, Andrés claimed that was already stepping down from the job before Trump’s post.
“I submitted my resignation last week…my 2 year term was already up. I was honored to serve as co-chair of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition,“ he wrote on X on Monday.
Andrés, who founded the World Central Kitchen nonprofit, also praised his former colleagues on the council and made a plea to the president.
“I hope @realdonaldtrump exercises his presidential authority so the Council can continue to advocate for fitness and good health for all Americans,” Andrés wrote.
“These are bipartisan issues…nonpartisan issues. May God give you the wisdom, Mr. President, to put politics and name calling aside…and instead lift up the everyday people working to bring America together. Let’s build longer tables….”
Trump has butted heads with Andrés in the past.
The celebrated humanitarian chef pulled out of opening a restaurant in a Trump property after Trump publicly disparaged Mexicans in 2015. The dispute led to a two-year legal battle which was eventually settled.
