Overview
- Dr. Mehmet Oz, who leads the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, told Donald Trump Jr.’s Triggered podcast Tuesday that the president argues diet soda “kills grass” and “must kill cancer cells.”
- A clip posted to X by Republicans Against Trump spread widely and showed Oz and Trump Jr. laughing at the anecdote, driving coverage that revisited Trump’s long‑running soda habit and the Oval Office “red button” for Diet Coke.
- Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday the remark was a joke she has heard the president tell before.
- Health reporters and doctors said there is no evidence diet soda prevents cancer, noting that while the WHO’s cancer agency labeled aspartame “possibly carcinogenic,” U.S. and European regulators say typical intake has not been shown to raise cancer risk.
- The disclosure drew scrutiny because Oz holds a top health role at CMS and because HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is fronting a nutrition push that urges cutting ultra‑processed foods and sugary drinks.