‘It’s Just Better!’: Trump Says Coca-Cola Has Agreed To Use ‘Real Cane Sugar’ In U.S.

Diet Coke consumer President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that after speaking to Coca-Cola, the soft drink giant has agreed to use “real cane sugar” in its beverages in the United States.

“I have been speaking to Coca-Cola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so. I’d like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola. This will be a very good move by them — You’ll see. It’s just better!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Coke, the leading soda brand in the world, has been using high-fructose corn syrup, a cheaper alternative to cane sugar, in its drinks since the mid-1980s. The use of high fructose corn syrup has been at the center of debate among dieticians and health experts for years, as some studies have shown a link between high-fructose corn syrup consumption and the obesity epidemic.

Trump’s Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been an outspoken critic of companies using corn syrup, calling it “poison.”

High-fructose corn syrup is “just a formula for making you obese and diabetic,” Kennedy said, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Mexican Coke, typically sold in glass bottles and imported to the United States, is sweetened with cane sugar, a difference that divides Coke drinkers on which version of the beverage tastes better.

Trump’s affinity for Diet Coke has been well-documented, with some reports stating that the president can drink up to 12 cans of the beverage each day, a habit that Kennedy would surely have a few thoughts on. The president’s love for Diet Coke was also noticed by the soda brand. Before his second inauguration earlier this year, Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey presented Trump with the “first-ever Presidential Commemorative Inaugural Diet Coke bottle.”

Tonight, President Trump received the first ever Presidential Commemorative Inaugural Diet Coke bottle from the Chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola Company, James Quincey ???????? pic.twitter.com/IgV2pxHnxD

— Margo Martin (@margomartin) January 15, 2025