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Donald Trump has a chance to make a big mark on the alcohol industry.
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On Friday, the Biden administration took steps to expand the warning on alcohol products to list cancer risks.
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Only Congress could force such a change, but how Trump will respond remains to be seen.
Donald Trump once said that not drinking was “one of my only good qualities.” President Joe Biden, a fellow teetotaler, and his administration have given the president-elect a chance to leave a lasting impression on the multibillion-dollar beverage industry.
US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy released a bombshell report on Friday warning how alcohol consumption can increase the risk of cancer. Murthy also called for an expanded warning label on all alcoholic beverages that carry a risk of cancer, treating such products like cigarettes.
Trump’s aversion to alcohol is well documented. He was once observed toasting his fellow world leaders with Diet Coke during his presidency. Trump has said that his brother Fred’s battle with addiction led him to avoid drinking and smoking completely. Fred Trump Jr. died in 1981 at the age of 42 due to a heart attack attributed to alcoholism.
“I had a brother, Fred. Great guy, best looking man, best personality, way better than mine,” Trump said at a press conference in 2018. “But he had a problem. He had a problem with alcohol and he told me, ‘Don’t drink. Don’t drink. ‘ He was considerably older, and I listened to him and I respected (him).”
It remains to be seen how Trump will proceed. A spokesperson for the Trump transition team did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
In general, the president-elect has opposed stricter regulations. Trump’s first administration also rejected an advisory committee’s advice urging men to reduce their alcohol consumption. It would take action from Congress to place warning labels on alcoholic products, although Trump’s support for such a measure would likely influence a more obedient Republican Party.
Alcohol played a major role in one of the biggest stories of Trump’s first administration: the controversial confirmation of current Judge Brett Kavanaugh.
Kavanaugh said during his Senate confirmation hearing that he “loved beer,” but reacted angrily when Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota asked if he had a drinking problem.
“I looked at him. I was surprised how vocal he was about the fact that he likes beer,” Trump said at the time. “This is not a man who said he was perfect when it came to alcohol.”
Trump was “extremely put off” by Kavanaugh’s comments about drinking, Mark Meadows, a former White House chief, said in his book “The Chief’s Chief.”
Former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon, is also expected to face questions about his drinking at an upcoming confirmation hearing. Like Kavanaugh, Hegseth has faced accusations that his drinking habits fueled sexual misconduct. (Both men have strongly denied any wrongdoing.)
Trump has a personal stake in the discussion. His hotels and golf clubs all sell alcohol, and the Trump Organization owns a winery in Charlottesville, Virginia. And even though Trump doesn’t drink, that didn’t stop him from one day launching his own vodka brand.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom Trump nominated to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, also doesn’t drink. Kennedy has been sober for years after a highly publicized history with drugs, including a 1983 arrest for heroin possession.
There is growing pressure among public health organizations for lawmakers to take a stricter approach to regulating alcohol. The industry routinely spends millions of dollars lobbying Congress.
Trump previously defended Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest beer company, as some of his closest allies and supporters pushed for an ongoing boycott of the company in response to a brief collaboration with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
“Anheuser-Busch is a great American brand that perhaps deserves a second chance? What do you think?” Trump wrote about Truth Social in 2023.
At the time, Trump was preparing to attend a major GOP fundraiser hosted by a top Republican lobbyist for the beverage giant.
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