White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt faced pointed questions on January 15 about President Trump’s diet, just days after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. publicly marveled at how the nearly 80-year-old leader survives on fast food and soda. The exchange exposed a stark divide between the administration’s public health push and its leader’s personal routine.
Daily Fuel
On the January 13 Katie Miller Podcast, Kennedy described Trump’s daily intake as McDonald’s, candy, and constant Diet Coke, calling it a habit that seems like “pumping himself full of poison all day long.” Asked who in the cabinet had the most extreme eating patterns, the 71-year-old secretary replied, “I don’t know how he’s alive.” At Mar-a-Lago or the White House, Kennedy added, Trump eats better food.
Trump’s Milk-Fueled Defense
The timing amplified the irony. On January 14, Trump signed the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, lifting Obama-era limits on whole milk in schools. In the Oval Office, he linked his own sharpness to dairy, stating he had “aced every one of them because I drink milk.” Days earlier, on January 2 Truth Social posts, Trump claimed White House doctors deemed him in “PERFECT HEALTH” after acing cognitive tests for the third time, scoring “100% correct” on all questions—unprecedented, he said, among past presidents or vice presidents.
Leavitt addressed Kennedy’s remarks head-on. She acknowledged that Trump “has his own personal habits,” but stressed his grasp of the “Make America Healthy Again” movement and his support from parents seeking public health reforms. White House spokesman Kush Desai countered by highlighting Trump’s golf wins and flawless physicals, agreeing with Kennedy that the president has energy levels “most young people could only dream of.”
Kennedy’s Mixed Message
Kennedy himself praised Trump’s “remarkable” overall health despite the diet, creating an unresolved tension: how does constant “poison” coexist with vitality? As America’s oldest sitting president at 79—turning 80 in June 2026—Trump’s consumption of ultra-processed foods stands out historically. No prior HHS secretary has voiced such bewilderment over a president’s survival.
Scientific Backdrop Research underscores the stakes. A December 2022 JAMA Neurology study of 11,000 dementia-free adults over eight years linked high ultra-processed food intake in midlife to 28 percent faster cognitive decline. Kennedy’s “poison” label gains weight amid Trump’s emphasis on his test scores, which lack independent verification or released results. Experts view such screenings as useful but not definitive.
MAHA’s Core Challenge
Kennedy’s MAHA initiative promotes whole foods, proteins, and healthy fats while curbing sugars—the opposites of Trump’s reported habits. This gap risks undermining credibility, especially with parent backers urged to follow guidelines their leader ignores. The administration deflects by separating personal choices from policy, but the contradiction persists, testing the movement’s messaging as it seeks widespread adoption.
The administration’s health drive hinges on resolving this personal-policy rift. With Trump as its symbol, MAHA faces scrutiny over whether voters and families will embrace reforms from a leader whose habits defy them, potentially shaping the initiative’s long-term influence on American nutrition.
Sources:
Kennedy, Robert F., interview by Katie Miller, The Katie Miller Podcast, January 13, 2026.
Trump, Donald, Truth Social post, January 2, 2026.
Leavitt, Karoline, interview, Politico, January 15, 2026.
White House Press Office, statement by Kush Desai, January 2026.
Mahaman, W., et al., “Ultra-Processed Food Consumption and Cognitive Decline,” JAMA Neurology, December 2022.