In November, President-elect Donald Trump announced he would nominate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
On Dec. 5, 2024, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) shared a post claiming Kennedy planned on banning Diet Coke. A thread featuring the same claim was widely viewed on Reddit. Searches related to a potential Kennedy Diet Coke ban have also risen on Google over the past week.
THE QUESTION
Has Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced plans to ban Diet Coke?
THE SOURCES
Parody account that made the original Diet Coke ban post
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s real X, Instagram and Facebook accounts
Kennedy podcast interview in which he discusses Trump’s diet
THE ANSWER
No, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has not announced plans to ban Diet Coke.
WHAT WE FOUND
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. did not announce plans for a ban on Diet Coke. The claim came from a parody account with the display name “Robert F. Kennedy Jr - Health Secretary Parody.”
Kennedy’s real X account uses the display name “Robert F. Kennedy Jr.” It has 4.9 million followers and an icon of his presidential campaign logo next to the account’s checkmark.
Kennedy has not posted anything about a possible Diet Coke ban on his real account. He hasn’t posted anything about a possible Diet Coke ban on his Instagram or Facebook accounts either.
Kennedy’s spokespeople did not respond to VERIFY’s request for comment prior to publishing.
VERIFY could not find any credible news articles reporting on Kennedy’s desire to ban Diet Coke.
The same parody account has made many similar posts declaring bans on various junk food items and fast food restaurants over the past week. This includes posts declaring bans on other popular brands like Sprite, Oreos, Starbucks and Burger King.
A proposed ban on Diet Coke would not likely be well-received by Kennedy’s new boss. In 2017, the New York Times reported that Trump drinks a dozen Diet Cokes each day.
Kennedy said in a Nov. 11 podcast interview that he disapproves of Trump’s diet and even went so far as to call the food available on Trump’s private jet “just poison.”
He said Trump rarely drinks water. Instead, Kennedy said, Trump favors Diet Coke.
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