Oz said the president also joked that Fanta Orange soda couldn't be bad for him because it's “fresh squeezed”
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NEED TO KNOW
- Dr. Mehmet Oz revealed that President Donald Trump defends his habit of drinking diet soda by claiming the beverage kills cancer cells
- Trump has also joked that Fanta Orange soda isn’t bad for him because it’s “fresh squeezed,” Oz said
- Trump has a well-documented affinity for junk food, and especially for diet soda
President Donald Trump justifies his habit of drinking diet soda by suggesting the beverage may prevent cancer, Dr. Mehmet Oz revealed during an interview with Donald Trump Jr.
“Your dad argues that diet soda is good for him because it kills grass — if poured on grass — so, therefore, it must kill cancer cells inside the body,” Oz told the president’s eldest son during an episode of his podcast, Triggered with Don Jr., on Monday, April 13.
“You know, we were on Air Force One the other day, and I walk in there because he wants to talk about something, and he's got an orange soft drink on his desk. He's got a Fanta on the desk,” Oz said. “And I say, ‘Are you kidding me?’ So he starts to, like, sheepishly grin. He says, ‘You know, this stuff’s good for me, it kills cancer cells.’ ”
Oz, a former cardiothoracic surgeon and television personality who now runs the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, recalled the president joking to him that Fanta, made with orange juice from concentrate, could not be bad for him because it's “fresh squeezed.”
“OK, OK,” Don Jr. interjected, “but then maybe he’s onto something. Because I will say this: I know a lot of guys pushing 80 — not a lot have his level of energy, recall, stamina.”
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Oz’s comments on Trump’s eating habits come as the Department of Health and Human Services resets U.S. nutrition guidelines, including a remodeled food pyramid that prioritizes whole foods.
“American households must prioritize whole, nutrient-dense foods — protein, dairy, vegetables, fruits, healthy fats, and whole grains — and dramatically reduce highly processed foods,” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in January. “This is how we Make America Healthy Again.”
Trump has a well-documented affinity for junk food, and especially for diet soda. During his first term, the president affixed a red valet button to his desk that allowed him to instantly order a Diet Coke. The White House reportedly reinstalled the “Diet Coke button” when Trump returned to office in January.
The Coca-Cola Company, which also owns Fanta, toasted Trump’s second term with a custom 8-oz. glass bottle of Diet Coke, which chairman and CEO James Quincey personally presented to the president. The company has commemorated each U.S. presidential inauguration with a limited-edition Coca‑Cola bottle since 2005, when President George W. Bush began his second term.
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A self-described germaphobe, Trump has defended his love of sugary beverages and fast food as a feature of his health-consciousness. “He doesn’t want to get sick, so he eats junk food, but it's food made in large, reputable chains because they have quality control,” Oz said during Monday’s podcast episode.
"I’m a very clean person. I like cleanliness," Trump told CNN’s Anderson Cooper in 2016. “And I think you’re better off going there than someplace that you maybe have no idea where the food is coming from.”
In their 2017 book, Let Trump Be Trump, former aides David Bossie and Corey Lewandowski wrote that, on Trump’s private plane, “there were four major food groups: McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, pizza and Diet Coke.”
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The White House did not immediately return PEOPLE’s request for comment on Trump’s apparent quip that diet soda kills cancer cells in the body.
In a similar instance of repeating unfounded scientific claims, the president suggested in 2020 that injecting disinfectants could kill the COVID-19 virus. “It sounds interesting to me,” he told reporters at the time.
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