The internet is speculating that Dr. Mehmet Oz may have accidentally revealed the president’s medical diagnosis after repeating Donald Trump’s claim that Diet Coke can kill cancer cells.
Oz, a former cardiothoracic surgeon and television personality who now runs the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, made the comment during an interview with Donald Trump Jr. on his podcast “Triggered with Don Jr.” on Monday.
“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 son.
“You know, we were on Air Force One the other day, and I walked in there because he wanted to talk about something, and he had 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 recalled the president joking with him that Fanta, made with orange juice from concentrate, couldn’t be bad for him because it’s “fresh-squeezed.”
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“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.”
“Yeah, maybe a bit of a slip there,” @rluhan4533 commented on Threads.
“Because of his age, most likely prostate cancer. If low-grade can live untreated for years,” @rees9902 added.
The president has a well-documented affinity for junk food, and especially for diet soda. During his first term, People reported 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.
Oz has made numerous controversial claims on his former daytime television show, “The Dr. Oz Show.”
Some of the claims made by the television star turned politician include spacing out childhood vaccines, conversion therapy, using colloidal silver as a treatment, and miracle diet pills.
According to Science-Based Medicine, “No other show on television can top ‘The Dr. Oz Show’ for the sheer magnitude of bad health advice it consistently offers, all while giving everything a veneer of credibility.”
“Huh, we should start reading between the lines? Oops! If that is true, you heard it from Dr. Oz first!” @Karenthompson1885 posted on Threads.
In addition to his diet sodas, Trump has defended his love of 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 on Monday’s podcast.
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.
“Ugh, this is ridiculous and so embarrassing. We have idiots running our country,” @the.subverted.flower wrote on Threads.
Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland requested a medical evaluation this month, citing signs he claimed were consistent with dementia or cognitive decline.
The bill has already been co-sponsored by 50 additional Democratic House members.
“President Trump’s sharpness, unmatched energy, and historic accessibility stand in stark contrast to what we saw during the last administration when Democrats like Raskin intentionally covered up [President] Joe Biden’s serious mental and physical decline from the American people,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told the Daily Mail in a statement.
There are no confirmed reports that the president has been diagnosed with cancer, according to official reports released by the White House this month.
