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Donald Trump's latest health claim isn't any less bizarre than usual, as the president is now pushing a popular drink as a cancer solution, with Dr. Oz's unexpected advice drawing criticism and disagreement from oncologists.
It's safe to say that U.S. President Donald Trump's second term in office has introduced several forms of anti-science legislation, as he has gutted funding for many key research fields – resulting in an S.O.S letter from thousands of scientists – and made major changes in the country's health leadership.
Chief among these is the implementation of Robert F. Kennedy as Health Secretary, as the controversial figure has pushed a number of theories and methods that remain highly contentious, if not outright scorned, in the medical world.
These include a push for unpasteurised 'raw milk', especially among school-aged children, alongside wild claims that popular medication Tylenol allegedly causes autism in the children of pregnant women: something the company itself and many scientists have vehemently denied.
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President Trump is back again with another bizarre health suggestion, however, this time using equally controversial health figure Dr. Mehmet Oz – popularly known as Dr. Oz – to push the claim.
As reported by Parade, the current Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) was a guest on 'Triggered', a podcast hosted by President Trump's son Donald Jr., discussing a claim that has now drawn the ire of many oncologists.
"Your dad argues that diet soda is good for him because it kills grass – if poured on grass – so, therefore, it must kill cancer cells inside of the body," Dr. Oz explained, recalling the theory proposed by the president.
"You know, we were on Air Force One the other day, and I walk in there because he wants to talk about something, and he's got an orange soft drink on his desk," Oz continued.
"He's got a Fanta on the desk, and I say, 'Are you kidding me?' So he starts to, like, sheepishly grin. He says, 'You know, this stuff's good for me – it kills cancer cells.' And then he tells me, 'it's fresh squeezed, so how bad could it be?'"
President Trump is certainly known for his fondness of fast food, having previously displayed a banquet of McDonald's meals during his first term alongside a recent DoorDash order to the White House, yet this new claim that fizzy drinks have cancer-killing properties might just be his wildest suggestion yet.
In fact, oncologists actually argue that fizzy drink consumption actually has the opposite effect, with research indicating that drinking two or more sodas each week significantly increases the risk of developing pancreatic cancer, with experts pointing towards the carcinogens and inflammatory triggers present within the drinks.
