This is what NBC’s Steve Kornacki is snacking on throughout Election Day
You know it’s election time when Steve Kornacki is wearing his signature khakis and has a stockpile of Diet Coke ready to go.
The NBC News and MSNBC political correspondent is known for his tireless pace in front of the “Big Board“ tabulating figures into the wee hours of election night.
To help fuel him on what is sure to be a busy upcoming week, TODAY presented him with a care package of Nutter Butter cookies and Diet Cokes on Nov. 1.
Kornacki, 45, shared how he’s gearing up for an election on Nov. 5 that is coming down to the wire between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
“That’s next week? I’m off next week. I thought it was the week after,” Kornacki joked on TODAY to Craig Melvin, Dylan Dreyer and Sheinelle Jones.
“It’s a lot of spreadsheets, a lot of numbers, a lot of trying to memorize things,” he continued. “I say 99% of what I prepare for I will never put on the air, but you don’t know what that 1% is.”
In order to maintain that indefatigable energy in front of the Big Board, Kornacki subsists on Nutter Butters and Diet Coke.
“This is going to come in handy, I can tell you,” Kornacki said.
He picked up the box of cookies and noted that “these are dangerous.”
It’s more the caffeine than the sugar that he needs to keep him running into the early hours of the morning on election night. Kornacki shared with GQ ahead of the 2020 presidential election that Diet Coke is a must.
“I couldn’t even tell you how many,” he told the magazine. “It’s just sort of a constant supply.”
Kornacki said he drinks a couple a day on a normal day, but election week is another level.
“On election night, I just keep it nearby and I’m just kind of regularly using it,” he told GQ. “These days (people) all tell you, ‘Oh, do you know what’s in that?’ And I say, ‘Well, no I don’t.’ But I guess it is supposed to be bad for you.”
He added that he doesn’t eat anything on election night and only has maybe a bagel for lunch. As for breakfast — forget it.
“I haven’t had breakfast in 28 or 29 years,” he told GQ. “They tell you it’s the most important, I think they’re full of it.”
This article was originally published on TODAY.com