Donald Trump's Oval Office Button For His Favorite Drink Is Convenient - But Is It Healthy?

For most people, it would be pretty awesome to get their favorite drink at the push of a button anytime they'd like. Well, that's an everyday reality for Donald Trump, at least when he's working in the Oval Office. According to reports, Trump reinstalled a special button on the Resolute desk that he had installed in 2017, which alerts his staff to bring Trump his go-to daily beverage, a cold can of Diet Coke. However, is drinking Diet Coke every day (and on demand) healthy for you, or at least healthier than alternatives?

Nutritionally, Diet Coke offers very little. A regular can of the popular soft drink (or 12 ounces) has zero calories, 40 milligrams of sodium, and 46 milligrams of caffeine. In contrast, 8 ounces of black coffee contains more than double the caffeine: 96 milligrams. In other words, Diet Coke isn't likely to disrupt anyone's diet, and definitely not their caloric intake. However, Diet Coke is made using a synthetic sugar substitute called aspartame, which has generated some controversy about its potential side effects.

While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given aspartame the GRAS label (generally recognized as safe), some studies have raised concerns over the sweetener. For instance, a 2025 study in the journal Neurology explored the potential long-term cognitive side effects of using low-calorie or no-calorie sweeteners, including aspartame. The study concluded that consuming sweeteners for at least eight years negatively affected people's memory and language fluency.

Meanwhile, The Journal of Xenobiotics published a piece reviewing the possible connection between aspartame and cancer. It was determined that the variety of studies on the subject have resulted in mixed conclusions, making it unclear whether aspartame is indeed carcinogenic. Although they didn't recommend a change to intake guidelines, the World Health Organization went further by designating aspartame as "possibly carcinogenic to humans." Regardless of whether aspartame in Diet Coke decreases mental ability or increases the risk of cancer, Trump may still not be doing his health any favors by having access to the drink whenever he wants.

Drinking Diet Coke all day can lead to even more issues, including stomach problems. According to a 2020 investigation published in the European Journal of Nutrition, which determined food additives like aspartame could interfere with the gut biome's functions. As a result, individuals who consume additives might have more digestive difficulties.

Interestingly, routinely drinking Diet Coke could lead to eventual weight gain even though the product itself has no calories. A 2023 study in the International Journal of Obesity showed a relationship between years-long intake of aspartame and an increased amount of body fat, regardless of diet or caloric intake.

In 2017, The New York Times reported that Trump drank 12 cans a day. That's significantly more than the amount that registered dietitian Vanessa Rissetto recommended to The Mirror: "One a day is fine for most people, but a few a week is even better." Trump isn't the only one in his family who's a fan of the soft drink: First Lady Melania Trump reportedly likes Diet Coke as well, but she follows Rissetto's advice and drinks much less than her husband, which is probably for the best.