A Trump spokesperson says Coca-Cola gave Donald Trump the first-ever inauguration Diet Coke. The reality looks more than a little different.
Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey on Tuesday hand-delivered Trump a personalized Diet Coke bottle honoring his upcoming inauguration—a huge about-face from a company that was condemning the “unlawful and violent events” of January 6 just four years ago.
Trump campaign spokesperson Margo Martin shared a photo of the present on X, calling it the first-ever “‘Presidential Commemorative Inaugural’ Diet Coke Bottle.” But in reality, this is far from the first time Coca-Cola has honored a president.
Still, the news is upsetting when considering how big businesses and billionaires have cozied up to the president-elect, either by supporting him publicly or reneging on so-called “woke” policies internally. Coca-Cola is only the latest, and maybe the corniest.
“As gratifying as it must be to sell out the inauguration, have Zuck & Bezos pony up (and show up), and generally be greeted with an air of legitimacy and mainstream validation he never had the first time, this gesture is probably the biggest next to the Time cover,” X user Liam Donovan quipped.
Trump is a known Diet Coke lover, and allegedly drank 12 Diet Cokes a day during his first term. But he’s also called it “garbage” and even called for the company to be boycotted in 2021 after it criticized Georgia’s restrictive and discriminatory voter laws.
