sugar

With the Jeffrey Epstein controversy still dogging him, President Trump has embraced his favorite distraction: the culture wars.

It began when he announced that Coca-Cola was switching to cane sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup. Coke responded with a statement that basically boiled down to: “Wait, what?” — before announcing the company would release a Trump-approved version of the famous cola.

Now, you might think decisions like these should be left up to the companies. After all, it’s none of the government’s business, and Republicans supposedly believe in free markets.

But no! Trump followed up by threatening to block a new stadium for Washington’s NFL team unless it changed its name back to the Redskins. He also demanded that Cleveland’s baseball team go back to being called the Indians.

At first glance, this seems like a ridiculous ploy to distract us from Epstein. And sure, that’s part of the story. But here’s what Trump understands: A lot of Americans feel like somebody came along and stole all their cool stuff — iconic team names, high-hold hair spray, military bases named after Confederate generals — and replaced them with soulless, modern stuff. “Guardians,” “low-flow shower heads,” “Fort Liberty.”

We might laugh at his trivial Coke crusade, but sports teams evoke more primal emotions. You can drink a Coke today and a Pepsi tomorrow. But you can’t root for the Indians on Monday and the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday. Not unless you’re a psychopath — or someone who wants to get punched in a bar. Team loyalty matters.

Trump gets this. When I was a kid, the Redskins won three Super Bowls. There were songs like “Hail to the Redskins,” team heroes (like John Riggins, Doug Williams and coach Joe Gibbs), and all manner of burgundy and gold merch. It wasn’t just a team. It was part of our identity — as well as an excuse to spend time together (even as decades passed without another Super Bowl run).

Then one day: poof. Goodbye Redskins.

Now imagine that same sense of loss in an already deracinated place like the Rust Belt, where the ball club is a big part of the city’s identity, and where they already closed Dad’s factory and then had the gall to take his boyhood team’s name too.

This isn’t really about names. It’s about nostalgia. Tradition. Identity. It’s about trying to keep a tenuous grip on a world you can still recognize, while everything else dissolves into a place where even choosing a bathroom is a political statement.

Now, is the name Redskins offensive? Sure. Even though a 2016 Washington Post poll found that 9 out of 10 Native Americans weren’t offended, you’d be hard-pressed to defend it on the merits. But the Indians? Come on. Just lose the Chief Wahoo cartoon. This isn’t rocket science.

So is Trump onto something when it comes to the real-world backlash to overwrought political correctness? Yes. But he’s also profiting politically off of people pining for a world that never really existed.

I thought about this last fall when Trump worked the fry station and drive-through window at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania. At first, it seemed like just another stunt to troll Kamala Harris (who said she once worked for McDonald’s).

But then I saw him in that red apron with the yellow piping — still wearing his red tie, of course — and thought: This is Rockwell. This image evokes a time when a white guy of a certain age could sling burgers, go home to his wife and kids, mow his middle-class lawn, crack open a Coca-Cola, and watch the Redskins and the Cowboys.

Whether Trump consciously appreciates the power of this imagery, I don’t know. But he clearly understands that there is power in yearning, that culture is more primordial than American politics and that refusing to exploit these forces (out of some sense of propriety) would be a sucker’s move.

To some degree, he’s been playing this game for years — think energy efficient lightbulbs, paper straws and his criticism over Apple’s decision to get rid of the iPhone home button. If something new comes along, Trump is already up there stoking cultural outrage, blaming the “woke” left and demanding somebody bring him a Diet Coke. It’s what he does.

But here’s why this actually matters: These little skirmishes don’t just distract from the bigger, more dangerous stuff — they enable it.

Even as he accuses former President Obama of treason (which is absurd and dangerous), Trump’s bond with his supporters is reinforced by these small, almost laughable grievances. He makes them feel seen, defended and nostalgic for a world that (to them, at least) made more sense.

That emotional connection with his base is what allows Trump to tell bigger lies and launch bolder attacks without losing them.

Coke and the Redskins may seem trivial. But they’re the sugar that helps the poison go down.

Matt K. Lewis is the author of “Filthy Rich Politicians” and “Too Dumb to Fail.”

July 17 (UPI) — President Donald Trump has announced that Coca-Cola has agreed to use cane sugar in its iconic drink instead of high-fructose corn syrup, though the Atlanta-based conglomerate has yet to confirm the move.

Trump, a known heavy consumer of Diet Coke, made the announcement on his Truth Social media platform on Wednesday.

“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,” he said. “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!”

High-fructose corn syrup is used as a sweetener in Coca-Cola in the United States. The move to cane sugar would align the U.S. product with Coca-Cola sold in other countries, including Mexico.

Coca-Cola has not confirmed that it is adopting cane sugar for its U.S. drinks.

In a statement, the company said: “We appreciate President Trump’s enthusiasm for our iconic Coca-Cola brand. More details on new innovative offerings within our Coca-Cola product range will be shared soon.”

Beverage giant declines to either confirm or deny change to ingredients in its signature soft drink.

United States President Donald Trump has announced that Coca-Cola will start using cane sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup in its US-made soft drink at his urging.

“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,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday.

“I’d like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola.”

Trump said the switch would be a “very good move”, adding: “You’ll see. It’s just better!”

Coca-Cola neither confirmed nor denied Trump’s announcement, but said it appreciated the president’s “enthusiasm for our iconic Coca-Cola brand.”

“More details on new innovative offerings within our Coca-Cola product range will be shared soon,” the Atlanta, Georgia-based company said in a brief statement.

“I have been speaking to @CocaCola 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!” –President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/9L27oxlYUj

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 16, 2025

Trump, who is known for his love of Diet Coke, did not explain his push to change the soft drink’s ingredients, but his health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has harshly criticised the prevalence of high-fructose corn syrup in the American diet.

Kennedy, who has pledged to wage war on ultra-processed foods containing ingredients rarely found in kitchen cabinets, has called the sweetener “just a formula for making you obese and diabetic.”

High-fructose corn syrup, which is derived from corn starch, is favoured by many US manufacturers because it is cheaper than sugar, in part due to government subsidies for corn and tariffs on sugar imports.

Coca-Cola began using high-fructose corn syrup in its US production in the 1980s, but still uses cane sugar in many versions of its signature beverage made overseas, including Mexico, whose version of the drink has developed a cult-like following for its supposedly superior taste.

While Americans’ high sugar intake is a major contributor to nearly three-quarters of the population being overweight or obese, there is currently no scientific consensus to suggest high-fructose corn syrup is less healthy than cane sugar or other sweeteners.

In a 2018 fact sheet, the US Food and Drug Administration said it was “not aware of any evidence” of a “difference in safety” between foods containing high-fructose corn syrup and those with other sweeteners such as sugar and honey.

President Donald Trump says Coca-Cola has agreed to use real cane sugar in its drinks sold in the US.

Coca-Cola uses corn syrup in its American products, but Trump’s Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has voiced concern about the ingredient’s health impacts.

“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,” Trump wrote on social media. “I’d like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola.”

Without explicitly confirming the recipe tweak, a Coca-Cola spokesperson said they “appreciate President Trump’s enthusiasm” and “more details on new innovative offerings within our Coca-Cola product range will be shared soon”.

Trump said in Wednesday’s post on Truth Social: “This will be a very good move by them – You’ll see. It’s just better!”

While Coke sold in the US is typically sweetened with corn syrup, Coke in other countries, such as Mexico and the UK, tends to use cane sugar.

In April, Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey told investors that “we continue to make progress on sugar reduction in our beverages”.

Mr Quincey said the company has “done this by changing recipes as well as by using our global marketing resources and distribution network to boost awareness of and interest in our ever-expanding portfolio”.

Kennedy and his Make America Healthy Again movement have advocated for American companies to remove ingredients such as corn syrup, seed oils and artificial dyes from their products, linking them to a litany of health problems.

He has been critical of the amount of sugar Americans consume and reportedly plans to update nationwide dietary guidelines this summer.

Trump is a regular drinker of Diet Coke – which uses the artificial sweetener aspartame. He had a button installed in the Oval Office’s Resolute desk so he can be served the soda.