Most people assume a billionaire president probably has a thing for fancy wine or aged bourbon. But Donald Trump has never touched alcohol in his entire life. His go-to drink is something most of us grab at a gas station or a fast-food drive-through. It’s Diet Coke. Seriously. The man has used it during official toasts with world leaders, and he’s not shy about it at all.
Diet Coke at a presidential toast
Imagine sitting at a fancy dinner table surrounded by presidents, prime ministers, and royalty. Everyone raises a glass of champagne. One person raises a glass of Diet Coke. That person is Donald Trump. During his first presidency, he was seen toasting fellow world leaders with the familiar brown soda instead of wine or champagne. It happened more than once, too. At his second inauguration, he toasted Vice President JD Vance the same way — with a glass of Diet Coke, right there in front of everybody.
In 2018, an aide was even spotted pouring Diet Coke for Trump before a formal diplomatic event. The whole thing became a well-known quirk of his presidency. Love him or not, it’s a pretty memorable scene. Most people would feel awkward being the only one not drinking at a party. Trump seems totally fine with it. He’s been doing it for decades, and he doesn’t plan on changing. It’s become one of the most recognizable things about him — right up there with the red tie.
The real reason Trump never drinks alcohol
There’s actually a sad story behind Trump’s decision to stay away from alcohol. His older brother, Fred Trump Jr., struggled with addiction for years. Fred was described by Trump as the better-looking brother with the better personality. But alcohol took over his life, and he passed away in 1981 at just 42 years old from a heart attack tied to alcoholism. Before he died, Fred told his younger brother over and over again: “Don’t drink. Don’t drink.”
Trump listened. He’s said publicly that his brother’s warning stuck with him his whole life. During a 2018 news conference, Trump called it “one of my only good traits.” He also avoids smoking for the same reason. It’s one of those rare moments where Trump gets personal and a little vulnerable. No matter what people think of his politics, most agree that watching a family member go through addiction is heartbreaking. That experience clearly shaped his lifelong choice to stay completely sober.
Trump owns a winery but doesn’t drink wine
Here’s where things get really interesting. Donald Trump — the guy who has never had a sip of alcohol — owns a winery. Well, technically his son Eric owns it now, but Donald was the one who bought it. Trump Winery sits in Charlottesville, Virginia, and it produces around 45,000 cases of wine per year. Trump once called it “one of the largest wineries in the United States” during a press conference. That claim turned out to be a stretch, though. It’s not even the biggest winery in Virginia.
The winery also claims to have the most acres of classic wine grapes on the East Coast. But according to fact-checkers, another vineyard on Long Island has more than double the acreage. Still, Trump Winery sells bottles online for anywhere from $18 to $54. And at Trump’s own restaurants, the wine is on the menu — even though the servers don’t seem all that excited to pour it. More on that in a second.
How the winery ended up in Trump’s hands
The winery has a wild backstory. It was originally founded by Patricia Kluge, who used a big chunk of her divorce settlement — reportedly around $100 million — to build it. Kluge married billionaire John Kluge in 1981, and after they split in 1990, she eventually started her dream vineyard. She wanted to make the best wine in the world and wasn’t afraid to spend big to try. She hired a famous French wine consultant and poured millions into the property near Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello estate.
But the 2008 financial crisis hit her hard. Kluge went broke, and the bank seized the property. That’s when Trump swooped in and bought the estate for a fraction of what it was worth. One report described the purchase price as “laughably low.” So a teetotaler ended up owning a massive vineyard. It’s one of those stranger-than-fiction stories. Trump eventually handed the operation over to his son Eric, who runs it today. The winery also hosts weddings and events on its scenic grounds in Virginia.
Wine experts were not kind about the product
So how does Trump wine actually taste? A well-known wine expert sat down at the Trump International Hotel restaurant in Washington, D.C., and tried as many Trump wines as he could get. The results were not pretty. He called the Trump Chardonnay “oaked up” and “clumsy” with too much sugar. The Meritage, a red blend made from West Coast grapes, got an even harsher review. The expert compared it to “Welch’s grape jelly with alcohol” and said it had a “terrible, fumy, alcoholic nose.”
A wine buyer at a well-known Washington shop took one sip of the Meritage and refused to try any more, calling it “grocery-store wine.” The expert also suspected the alcohol content listed on the label was lower than what was actually in the bottle. The sparkling wine got a slightly better review. The expert said it was “fine” and that he’d “get drunk on it at a wedding.” Even the servers at Trump’s own hotel restaurant seemed to steer guests away from the Trump wine list when they could.
Trump also once sold his own vodka brand
Wine isn’t the only alcohol Trump has slapped his name on. From 2005 to 2011, there was actually a Trump vodka brand on the market. It came in a flashy bottle and was marketed as a luxury spirit. The idea of a man who never drinks selling vodka is kind of hilarious when it sinks in. But in the world of celebrity branding, it’s not that unusual. Plenty of famous people lend their names to products they don’t personally use.
The vodka didn’t last long, though. It was discontinued after a few years because sales never really took off. One Washington wine buyer admitted he actually liked the Trump vodka when he sold it, which is more than most people said about the wine. Trump’s hotels and golf clubs also sell alcohol across the board, so even though the man himself doesn’t drink, his businesses profit from people who do. It’s a funny contradiction, but it’s been a consistent part of his brand for years.
Other presidents had very different drinking habits
Trump isn’t the only president with a notable drink preference. Plenty of former commanders-in-chief had strong opinions about what they liked to sip. Some were big wine drinkers. Others had a thing for specific sodas or cocktails. Joe Biden, for example, is also a teetotaler, just like Trump. That means the two most recent presidents both avoided alcohol entirely, which is actually pretty unusual in the long history of American presidents.
Going further back, some former presidents were famous for drinking gallons of wine or requesting specific beverages on demand. The variety is kind of amazing. From Fresca to fine bourbon, the White House has seen it all. It turns out that what a president drinks — or doesn’t drink — can say a lot about their personality. In Trump’s case, his love of Diet Coke has become almost as iconic as his signature hairstyle.
Trump once defended America’s biggest beer company
Even though Trump doesn’t drink beer, he waded into one of the biggest beer controversies in recent memory. In 2023, Anheuser-Busch InBev — the company behind Bud Light — faced a massive boycott from some conservatives. The backlash came after the brand briefly partnered with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Many of Trump’s closest allies and supporters were calling for people to stop buying the company’s products entirely.
But Trump surprised a lot of people by stepping in and defending the beer giant. He posted on Truth Social, asking if Anheuser-Busch was “a Great American Brand that perhaps deserves a Second Chance.” It turned out he was getting ready to attend a big Republican fundraiser hosted by a top GOP lobbyist connected to the company. Politics and beer have always been intertwined in America. Even a president who never touches the stuff can’t avoid getting pulled into the conversation.
Alcohol and politics have a complicated relationship
Alcohol has popped up in some pretty big political moments during Trump’s time in office. Remember Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings? The Supreme Court nominee made headlines when he repeatedly said he “liked beer” during his Senate testimony. Trump later said he was “surprised at how vocal” Kavanaugh was about his drinking. According to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Trump was “extremely put off” by those comments.
Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon, also faced questions about his own drinking during his confirmation process. It’s clear that even in a White House run by someone who doesn’t drink, alcohol keeps finding its way into the spotlight. The beverage industry spends millions lobbying Congress every year, and public-health groups keep pushing for tougher rules. So while Trump might stick to his Diet Coke, the debates around alcohol in American politics are far from over.
Whether it’s a can of Diet Coke at a state dinner or a winery he bought on the cheap, Trump’s relationship with beverages is full of surprises. A man who never drinks somehow owns a vineyard, once sold vodka, and defended a beer company. His drink of choice is about as simple as it gets, but the stories around it are anything but. Sometimes the most ordinary choice tells the most interesting story.
