President Donald Trump has long been vocal about his love of Diet Coke, but his reasoning for drinking it has now drawn sharp criticism from medical professionals. During a recent appearance, Dr. Oz, who serves as a top health official in the Trump administration, laughed off the president’s claims about diet soda and fast food, prompting a strong response from medical experts on MSNBC.
Pulmonologist and medical contributor Dr. Gupta did not hold back in a recent interview when reacting to Dr. Oz’s casual dismissal of Trump’s health commentary.
“They treat their platform, which is a hallowed platform, the highest levels that you can get, with such a lack of seriousness,” Dr. Gupta said. “Dr. Oz has a major platform and he’s laughing about these fast food takes and these claims about soda.”
Among the claims circulating is that Trump reportedly believes the carbonated beverages he drinks are somehow beneficial to his health, with some suggesting he believes they would be harmful to grass, which Dr. Gupta was quick to address.
“Soda beverages do not kill grass,” he clarified. “Baking soda can kill grass. There are numerous health concerns with carbonated beverages. Weight gain, insulin resistance, high blood pressure, you name it. There is no health benefit to it.”
Dr. Oz also raised eyebrows by defending Trump’s habit of eating fast food on the campaign trail, saying, “It’s food made in large reputable chains because they have quality control on meals.”
Dr. Gupta called the comment out directly. “Every food generating or food industry has quality control measures in place, so that doesn’t make any sense,” he said. “Everything that isn’t a fast food chain that they produce and then give to consumers is highly processed, ultra-processed, filled with saturated fat type food.”
Dr. Oz also cited Trump’s high testosterone levels as evidence of great health, a claim Dr. Gupta rejected outright. “There is no linkage between having a high testosterone level and somehow automatically having great health. It’s a nonsensical correlation,” he said.
Former Senator Clare McCaskill weighed in on whether the public is overreacting to these comments. “No. Let me be very clear. The vaccine skepticism is k*lling people. It is putting children at danger in this country,” she said.
McCaskill recalled hauling Dr. Oz before a Senate hearing roughly a decade ago, where she confronted him about promoting green coffee beans as “a miracle in a bottle for weight loss” and acai berries as a ticket to good health and losing weight. “He hemmed and hawed,” she said, noting that his behavior then mirrors what is happening now.
Dr. Gupta backed McCaskill’s account. “Guys like Dr. Oz are being stain washed right now by a lot of people because he has power,” he said. “Folks like myself and my colleagues remember those days. We have not forgotten who he is, not to be taken seriously.”
