- Donald Trump will have a chance to leave a big mark on the alcohol industry.
- Weeks before Trump took office, the Biden administration moved to expand the warning on alcoholic beverages.
- Like Biden, Trump is a shrew.
Donald Trump once said that not drinking alcohol was “one of my good qualities”. Shortly before he left office, former President Joe Biden, a colleague of his, and his administration gave Trump an opportunity to leave a lasting mark on the billion-dollar beverage industry.
Earlier this month, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy released a bombshell report warning that alcohol consumption may increase the risk of cancer. Murthy also called for an expanded warning label on all alcoholic beverages that would include the risk of cancer, similar to the warning label on cigarettes.
Trump’s aversion to alcohol is well documented. During his first presidency, he was seen toasting other world leaders with Diet Coke. During his second inauguration, Trump toasted his Vice President JD Vance with a Diet Coke.
President-elect Donald Trump, a lifelong man, sometimes uses other drinks during official diplomatic toasts. During a 2018 event, an aide was seen pouring a Diet Coke before Trump raised the glass. Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images
Trump has said that his brother Fred’s battle with addiction led him to completely avoid alcohol and tobacco. Fred Trump Jr. died in 1981 at age 42 of a heart attack attributed to alcoholism.
“I had a brother, Fred. Great guy, best looking guy, best personality, way better than mine,” Trump said during a press conference in 2018. “But he had a problem. He had a drinking problem and would say, “Don’t drink, don’t drink.” He was much older, and I listened and respected him.
It remains to be seen how Trump will move forward. A spokesman for the Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Trump has generally opposed stricter regulations. His first administration also rejected the advice of an advisory committee to urge men to reduce their alcohol consumption. Adding warning labels to alcoholic beverages would require congressional action, though Trump’s support for such a measure is likely to sway a more docile GOP.
Alcohol played a big role in one of the biggest stories from the first Trump administration: the contested confirmation of now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Kavanaugh said during his Senate hearing that he “likes beer,” but stood up when Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota asked him if he had a drinking problem.
“I saw him. I was surprised how vocal he was about the fact that he likes beer,” Trump said at the time. “This is not a man who said he was perfect in relation to alcohol.”
Trump was “extremely put off” by Kavanaugh’s comments about drinking, Mark Meadows, a former White House chief of staff, said in his book “The Boss’s Boss.”
Former Fox News anchor Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon, is also expected to face questions about his drinking during his confirmation hearings. Like Kavanaugh, Hegseth has faced accusations that his drinking habits fueled sexual misconduct. (Both men have strongly denied any wrongdoing.)
Trump has a vested interest in the discussion. His hotels and golf clubs all sell alcohol, and the Trump Organization owns a winery in Charlottesville, Virginia. And while Trump doesn’t drink, that didn’t stop him from once using his own brand of vodka.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom Trump has nominated to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, also does not drink. Kennedy has been sober for years after a highly publicized history with drugs, including a 1983 arrest for possession of heroin.
There is a growing push among public health groups for lawmakers to take a tougher approach to alcohol regulation. The industry routinely spends millions of dollars lobbying Congress.
Trump previously defended Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest beer company, when some of his closest allies and supporters called for a boycott of the company in response to its brief partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
“Anheuser-Busch is a great American brand that maybe deserves a second chance? What do you think?” Trump wrote in Social Truth in 2023.
At the time, Trump was preparing to attend a major GOP fundraiser hosted by a top Republican lobbyist for the beverage giant.
