Donald Trump appeared to be caught red-handed with the red-wrapped soda bottle — again. Yes, we’re talking about Diet Coke, a beverage from the very same company that Trump called for his supporters to boycott after Coca-Cola’s CEO denounced Georgia’s controversial new voting bill. The Diet Coke bottle could be seen on the table where Trump was eating lunch at his private golf club, the National Golf Club Jupiter in Florida, on April 9. You can see the photo here, which was taken amid Trump’s golfing day with South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham.
Trump: BOYCOTT COCA-COLA!
Also Trump: pic.twitter.com/7zfnRRF9LQ
— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) April 6, 2021
This was the second time a bottle of Diet Coke could be seen in a photo with Trump…after he called to boycott the soda company. The first instance happened on April 5, when Trump’s senior advisor Stephen Miller posted a photo of his “terrific meeting” with the former POTUS. A bottle of what appeared to be Diet Coke could be seen hiding (not very well) behind a phone on the desk Trump was sitting at.
Trump sending out a demand for his followers to boycott Coke then getting caught trying to hide a bottle in a picture with his favorite vampire is so on brand it's like an 'Inception' level of layers of Trump brand.
— Fred Wellman (@FPWellman) April 5, 2021
“Trump sending out a demand for his followers to boycott Coke then getting caught trying to hide a bottle in a picture with his favorite vampire is so on brand it’s like an ‘Inception’ level of layers of Trump brand,” Project Lincoln founder Fred Wellman tweeted in response to the Diet Coke-hypocrisy. Another person tweeted, “Donald Trump calling for a boycott of Coke only to be caught with a Coke on his desk days later is symbolic of his entire presidency. It was a parody, a joke, for four years straight! I’m so thankful it’s OVER! Aren’t you?”
Of course Trump was drinking Coke while telling you not to, he did the same thing with the COVID vaccine.
— Mr. Newberger (@jeremynewberger) April 6, 2021
Filmmaker Jeremy Newberger pointed out that Trump seems to be handling his Diet Coke boycott the same way he did with the COVID-19 vaccine. “Of course Trump was drinking Coke while telling you not to, he did the same thing with the COVID vaccine,” he cheekily tweeted, referring to the fact that Trump received the vaccine (without announcing this to his followers) in January.
Critics called out Trump just as hard after what appeared to be his second Diet Coke offense. “Trump said You people should boycott Coke, not me,” one critic tweeted over a photo of the new photo showing Trump by the soda bottle, while another tweeted, “Trump can’t even hide the Diet Coke.”
Someone is going to make a fortune leaking pics of Trump, drinking Diet Coke 12 times a day.
— Alison 🇨🇦🇿🇦 (@EHTSHIRTCOMPANY) April 4, 2021
Even after Trump announced the soda boycott, many fans found it hard to imagine the ex-president quitting Diet Coke cold turkey. “Is it true trump is going to quit drinking Diet Coke??!! I say no way in hell…he will still be drinking it on the low down no doubt,” someone tweeted on April 3. In case you forgot, Trump used to have a Diet Coke button on the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. When he pressed the red button, someone would fetch him a Diet Coke.
The boycott began after Coca-Cola’s CEO, James Quincey, denounced the SB 202 bill backed by Georgia Republicans that many critics have argued would suppress voters. “I want to be crystal clear. The Coca-Cola Company does not support this legislation, as it makes it harder for people to vote, not easier,” James announced, which The New York Times reported on March 31.
BREAKING: President Trump calls for major corporate boycott pic.twitter.com/58wpnMc1ks
— Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) April 4, 2021
Not long after, Trump issued his rallying cry in an official statement on April 3. “For years the Radical Left Democrats have played dirty by boycotting products when anything from that company is done or stated in any way that offends them. Now they are going big time with the WOKE CANCEL CULTURE and our sacred elections. It is finally time for Republicans and Conservatives to fight back— we have more people than they do— by far! Boycott Major League Baseball, Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines, JPMorgan Chase, ViacomCBS, Citigroup, Cisco, UPS and Merck. Don’t go back to their products until they relent. We can play a better game than them,” Trump wrote in a statement that the Save America PAC issued, per Complex. But will Trump take his own advice?