While appearing on the latest episode of Donald Trump Jr.’s podcast Triggered, Dr. Mehmet Oz — the longtime TV personality-turned-Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services — revealed yet another among President Donald Trump’s many bizarre beliefs: that diet soda must have anti-cancer properties because “it kills grass.”
Dr. Oz and the president’s eldest son were discussing Trump’s health and dietary habits when Oz shared the eyebrow-raising anecdote.
“He’ll hit the red button, and then comes the diet soda pop,” said Oz, referring to a button Trump had installed in the Oval Office. “Your dad argues that diet soda is good for him because it kills grass when poured on grass, so therefore it must kill cancer cells inside the body.”
At this, Trump Jr. gave a “what are you gonna do?” shrug.
Oz went on, saying he once confronted the president about his propensity for Fanta: “I said, are you kidding me? So he starts to sheepishly grin and he says, ‘Well, you know — this stuff is good for me, it kills cancer cells. It’s fresh squeezed so how bad could it be for you?’”
“Maybe he’s onto something,” said Trump Jr.
According to medical science, the president is not “onto something.” Studies have shown that contrary to being anti-cancerous, diet soda can in fact increase the risk of over 10 types of cancer. It also increases the likelihood of diabetes, high blood pressure, dental problems, stroke, dementia, and other conditions, and can actually contribute to weight gain for a variety of reasons.
Trump is no stranger to making unusual, medically unsound health claims. He has asserted that the human body is born with a finite amount of energy, and that doing exercise depletes one’s “battery.” He notoriously suggested that COVID could be treated by injecting the body with disinfectant. He wrote in his 1997 book that asbestos is “100 percent safe” (and has recently even tried to overturn bans on the cancerous substance). He has attempted to justify his hatred toward windmills by claiming they cause cancer. And the list goes on and on.
The wider Trump administration is also known for its unscientific medical opinions. The appointment of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the role of Secretary of Health and Human Services, for example, alarmed many due to his famously anti-vaccination stance and other unusual beliefs regarding health. Kennedy’s anti-vax messaging contributed directly to a 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa that infected nearly 6000 people and killed 83, and since entering the federal government, his stance has driven falling rates of vaccination against the disease while outbreaks have exploded across the U.S.
"Take the vaccine, please," pleaded Dr. Oz in early February.