Coca-Cola the latest American staple Donald Trump wants to bring back to its roots
Draper is on the outset of a spiritual crisis that leaves him adrift on Madison Avenue but the phrase wanders with him. For all the ingenious consumer products and marketing campaigns to make Americans want more, Coca-Cola remains the sui generis. No name will ever sound as good, no logo capable of conjuring up the same rush of global interpretations of whatever 'America' is to the imaginer.
Credit for both the name and logo are attributed to Frank Mason Robinson, the bookmaker and partner of the Atlanta pharmacist John Stith Pemberton, who had originally invented a local coca wine 'for fatigue of mind and body'.
An 1886 city prohibition law forced him to pivot to a non-alcoholic beverage, and the first known advert for Coca-Cola appeared in the Atlanta Journal that May, promising a soda fountain drink that was – in Trumpian full caps – delicious, refreshing, exhilarating and invigorating. The men sold the rights before fully understanding that they'd created the fountain from which the world will always drink.
READ MORE
Among Coca-Cola's most loyal customers is US president Donald Trump, who favours the diet variety. One of the moderations he made to the Oval Office was the installation of a small red button in a wooden box sitting within reach on the Resolute desk. Whenever he is concerned about fatigue of mind and body, he presses the button and someone – possibly JD Vance – comes scurrying in with an iced glass of the restorative elixir.
Showing Fox News host Laura Ingraham around his new office several months ago, Trump was pleased that many visitors assumed that the red button was, in fact, the scary one. 'They say if I press this, it's the end of the world,' he joked. 'And it doesn't seem to work out that way.'
Given the stresses of the week just past for Trump, who has had to juggle the twin menaces of Vladimir Putin and Jeffrey Epstein, it would be understandable if that red button was smoking from overuse. But despite these demands and constant questions about tariffs, about the Federal Reserve chairman, about the dollar, Trump still found time to announce a fundamental change to his favourite beverage.
Following a conversation with Coca-Cola about returning to the use of real sugar cane in their product, he was pleased to announce they had agreed to do so. 'This will be a very good move by them – You'll See,' he posted in remarks on Wednesday. 'It's just better.'
The corporate giant all but choked on its own product as it responded with a 'this is news to us' type response: 'appreciate president Trump's enthusiasm' and 'more details on new, innovative offerings' etc. The switch mooted by Trump originates in the drive by health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr to Make America Healthy Again.
[
Donald Trump says Coca-Cola will use cane sugar in US production of Coke
Opens in new window
]
The announcement kicked off an instant bout of nostalgia on the morning-show circuit among guests who remembered when Coca-Cola used to taste better, in the 1970s and early 1980s. Until that point, sugar cane was, in fact, the key ingredient. The high cost of sugar combined with the national subsidisation of the corn industry led to the mass production of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and, by 1985, the changeover was complete. That April, the company launched an advertising drive that would have caused Dick Hobart to pale, actually announcing the change in its 'New Coke' campaign, a misstep which the company's website details under the headline: 'The biggest marketing blunder ever?'
The days kept turning. But US visitors to Mexico have always noticed that the version of Coca-Cola produced there, with sugar cane, tastes better. For years, 'Mexi-Coke' was a highly desired import until it was officially launched as a luxury alternative to US produced Coca-Cola.
Now, the original taste is returning. The Corn Refiners' Association has warned that halting production of HFCS will 'cost thousands of American food manufacturing jobs, depress farm income and boost imports of foreign sugar, all with no nutritional benefit'. The counterargument is that corn syrup accounts for just 3 per cent of the 15 billion bushels of corn produced annually.
Food health advocates may despair that a debate over replacing one type of sugary source with another is woefully far from the point. Americans consume 40 billion gallons of Coke each year, out-guzzling the Mexicans 2:1.
But lost in the debate is a kernel of the truth with which Donald Trump has been persuading his voters for the past decade. Coca-Cola is America's favourite drink and yet they have to make do with an inferior version of John Stith Pemberton's original recipe. All for more profit. A wrong turn was taken. Time to start pressing the red button and demanding, always, the real thing.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Trump's civil fraud fine thrown out by New York appeals court
A New York state appeals court on Thursday threw out an approximately half-billion-dollar penalty that Donald Trump had been ordered to pay after a judge found the US president fraudulently overstated the value of his properties and other assets to bolster his family business. The decision by a five-judge panel of the appellate division in Manhattan represented a defeat for New York attorney general Letitia James, whose office brought the civil fraud lawsuit against Mr Trump in 2022. Ms James's case had been among Mr Trump's biggest legal losses in a slew of lawsuits against him in recent years. Lawyers for Mr Trump did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Ms James's office did not immediately respond to similar requests. READ MORE The appeals court was splintered. Two judges found Mr Trump was properly held liable, and Ms James 'vindicated a public interest' by pursuing her fraud case, but the penalty was an excessive fine that violated the US Constitution. Two other judges also found Ms James had authority to sue, but a new trial was necessary because the trial judge should not have held Mr Trump liable for fraud at the outset. The fifth judge said the case against Mr Trump should have been dismissed. Mr Trump was appealing a judgment entered by judge Arthur Engoron in a state court in Manhattan, following a three-month non-jury trial. Judge Engoron found Mr Trump had inflated his wealth over several years before first becoming president in 2017, to dupe lenders and insurers into providing better terms to the Trump Organization. Mr Trump has denied wrongdoing. His lawyers argued that the penalty was too high and that Ms James had overreached. In February 2024, the judge ordered Mr Trump to pay $454.2 million in penalties plus interest , which has continued to accrue. Mr Trump was personally liable for nearly 98 per cent of the judgment, with his eldest sons, Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, and former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg responsible for the remainder. Referring to Mr Trump and other Trump Organization figures, judge Engoron said their 'complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological'. Judge Engoron also banned Mr Trump and the Trump Organization from applying for loans from banks registered in the state for three years, and effectively barred Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump from running the business for two years. The appeals court put these restrictions on hold during the appeals process, while letting a court-appointed monitor for the Trump Organization continue her work. – Reuters
Irish Times
a day ago
- Irish Times
Tiger Woods takes up PGA role but unification in golf is as distant as ever
Tiger Woods will chair a newly created PGA Tour committee aimed at reshaping golf's competitive landscape in the United States. But comments made by Brian Rolapp, the Tour's newly appointed chief executive, showed that unification between the sport's traditional ecosystem and the Saudi Arabian‑backed LIV circuit is as distant as ever. Woods, who has not competed since the 2024 Open Championship because of injury, was the headline name when Rolapp addressed the media in Atlanta on the eve of the Tour Championship. After just three weeks in office, the chief executive has formed a future competition committee that will also feature Patrick Cantlay and Adam Scott. Rolapp seems clear that the tournament landscape has to change. 'The purpose of this committee is pretty simple,' Rolapp said. 'We're going to design the best professional golf competitive model in the world for the benefit of PGA Tour fans, players and their partners. It is aimed at a holistic relook of how we compete. That is inclusive of regular season, postseason and off-season. 'We're going to focus on the evolution of our competitive model and the corresponding media products and sponsorship elements and model of the entire sport. The goal is not incremental change. The goal is significant change.' READ MORE Creation of a meaningful break between PGA Tour seasons and guarantees that the most high-profile players will play in top events seem logical starting points for Woods. Press conferences such as this once tended to focus on progress on a deal between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. A framework agreement was signed between the parties in summer 2023 with the supposed aim of uniting elite golf. Progress, though, has been slow: the PGA Tour rejected various concession requests made by the PIF in late March, in exchange for $1.5 billion of investment. Key figures in this sport such as Jon Rahm , Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka play under the LIV banner and are therefore key absentees from the PGA Tour. Jon Rahm is one of the biggest names to have switched allegiance to the LIV Golf tour. Photograph:Rolapp admitted he has not held discussions with the PIF. 'My primary focus is going to be on strengthening the Tour. Blank sheet of paper means blank sheet of paper. Whatever does that, I'll pursue aggressively. That's how I view it.' At the Players Championship five months ago the PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan revealed that 70 per cent of fans surveyed wanted unification with LIV. Rolapp echoed that sentiment in June. Pressed on whether he agreed golf spectators want to see the best in the game compete against each other more often, Rolapp appeared to backtrack. He said: 'Yeah, golf fans want to see the best competition possible in the sport that they love in a competitive model that makes sense.' Subsequently challenged on whether or not unification should be a priority, the chief executive seemed to rail against 'a LIV question'. He added: 'I'm going to focus on what I can control. I would offer to you that the best collection of golfers in the world are on the PGA Tour. I think there's a bunch of metrics that demonstrate that, from rankings to viewership to whatever you want to pick. I'm going to lean into that and strengthen that. 'I will also say that to the extent we can do anything that's going to further strengthen the PGA Tour, we'll do that. I'm interested in exploring whatever strengthens the PGA Tour.' As he seeks to complete a sensational season with victory at the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup, Scottie Scheffler dismissed parallels with the once imperious Woods. The world No 1 has won five times in 2025, including at two Majors, to separate himself as the dominant figure in golf. 'It's very silly to be compared to Tiger Woods,' Scheffler said. 'Tiger is a guy that stands alone in the game of golf and I think he always will. Tiger inspired a whole generation of golfers. You've grown up watching that guy do what he did week-in, week-out, it was pretty amazing to see.' Scheffler did credit Woods with a role in his development after being in the 15-time Major winner's company at the 2020 Masters. 'I've only played one round of tournament golf with Tiger Woods and it completely changed the way I look at how I play tournaments,' Scheffler said. 'I can't tell you the look on his face when we got to the first green. I look over, and we're in 20th place, kind of playing, yada, yada, yada, and I look over and this guy is just locked in. I was taken aback. I was like, holy smokes. Then we got to the second hole, and he had this chip shot and he looked at it like it was an up-and-down to win the tournament. I'm like: 'This is incredible. I've never seen anything like this before in my life.'' – Guardian
Irish Times
a day ago
- Irish Times
Jerome Powell to deliver Jackson Hole address under fire on multiple fronts
Jerome Powell's speech at the Federal Reserve's August summit in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is always a high-stakes moment. This year, the central bank's chair takes the podium under fire – facing fierce attacks from US President Donald Trump and a growing insurgency within his own institution. Trump has engaged in a months-long assault on Powell, calling him a 'stubborn mule' and 'numbskull' for refusing to cut borrowing costs this year over concerns that the president's tariffs will inflame inflation. Now, almost six months in advance of schedule, Trump has been gifted a chance to sow more discord within the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) by picking a loyalist to fill an empty seat on the Fed's board. Stephen Miran, the economist he has chosen to replace Adriana Kugler following her abrupt departure from the central bank's policy-setting board, has endorsed Trump's calls for interest rate cuts. He has also pushed for an overhaul in Fed governance that would hand presidents the power to dismiss the likes of Powell at will. READ MORE Analysts expect something like fireworks inside the ordinarily staid central bank. 'Miran is not somebody who's going to be enveloped in and overwhelmed by the traditions inside the Fed,' said Steven Blitz, chief US economist at TS Lombard. 'He will be the agent provocateur representing Trump at the FOMC. And proudly so. He'll make no bones about it.' It would make Powell's job in Wyoming on Friday, when markets will pore over every word in his speech, more complicated than normal. [ The moment Jerome Powell stood up to Trump a reminder how few dare to contradict him Opens in new window ] 'We are in this uncomfortable equilibrium, where we don't know where things go next,' said Gennadiy Goldberg, chief rates strategist at TD Securities. 'The market wants a bit of confirmation from Powell on Friday as to whether he is open to cutting rates.' Miran is not Powell's only problem. Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, two Fed governors who both made the Treasury's 11-person longlist to succeed Powell in May, dissented and backed cuts at the central bank's July vote. [ Scott Bessent calls for inquiry into 'the entire Federal Reserve institution' Opens in new window ] Assuming Miran is confirmed by the Senate in time for the September 16-17 Fed meeting, that would leave Powell facing three dissenters from within his own seven-strong board. A schism of that magnitude last occurred in 1988 – and would be seized upon by Trump and his supporters as evidence that the chair was losing his grip. Mixed US economic data is adding to Powell's dilemma as he seeks to balance the Fed's dual mandates of maximum employment and stable prices. The Teton Range seen from the Jackson Hole valley in Wyoming. Photograph: Ryan Dorgan/The New York Times Trump's sweeping duties on trading partners have yet to produce the sort of surge in inflation seen during Joe Biden's time in the White House, but they have clouded the outlook enough to leave rate-setters wondering if they have much room to cut. Investors leapt on a relatively benign consumer price index figure last week to fully price in at least a quarter-point cut in mid-September. But insiders view the Fed's vote next month as a far closer call than markets. While a gloomy jobs report for July has raised concerns about the health of the labour market, a hot producer price index figure brought worries that tariffs were about to hit US shoppers. Torsten Sløk, chief economist at Apollo Global Management, said tariffs had created 'a stagflationary impulse' that had complicated the Fed's job 'dramatically'. [ Will Donald Trump fire Jerome Powell? 'I don't rule out anything. But it's unlikely. Unless …' Opens in new window ] Some Fed-watchers say Powell's view would depend on whether he remains focused on the unemployment rate as the prime indicator of the health of the US labour market. At 4.2 per cent, the rate remains low, suggesting the sharp slowdown in hiring this summer might be down to supply-side factors, such as a fall in immigration, which the central bank can do little to counteract. Marc Giannoni, chief US economist at Barclays, said: 'Powell warned [after the July meeting] that payrolls could be close to zero, he also said the unemployment rate may not move up much because of supply-side factors. If he repeats that, then that puts the expectations for rate cuts back closer to 50 per cent.' Bets of a September cut have edged lower in recent days, to an 85 per cent chance as of Tuesday, on the back of the PPI report and Fed officials' comments that have tempered expectations. But doves argue that, at 4.25 per cent to 4.5 per cent, the Fed's benchmark range remains in 'restrictive' territory, limiting growth at a time when the US labour market might be on the turn and the economy showing signs of slowing. More bad data on jobs would raise the prospect of the likes of Waller backing a jumbo 0.5 percentage point cut – in line with calls from US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent for more aggressive action. Trump's demands, meanwhile, remain extreme: he wants borrowing costs slashed to just 1 per cent, claiming this would save the government hundreds of billions of dollars on debt repayments. 'I don't think the Department of Finance have any respect for the tourism industry' Listen | 41:44 The big question for Miran is how he would keep pushing for such steep rate cuts while coming across as credible. He struggled in April to reassure investors during a market eruption after Trump launched his trade war, and previously wrote about the merits of devaluing the dollar and a so-called Mar-a-Lago accord to realign the global economy. 'He's there to try to see how far he can shift the Fed's 'Overton window',' said Derek Tang, of LH Meyer, referring to the concept that describes the range of ideas considered acceptable in public discourse. Miran, now chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, will not attend Jackson Hole, though his fellow council members Pierre Yared and Aaron Hedlund will be there. Ed Glaeser, who taught Miran microeconomics in his first semester at Harvard, expected his former pupil to echo the president's calls for rate cuts, but played down the degree to which he would be a disruptive force within the Fed. 'I suspect he would not be nominated if he did not believe that he should be cutting rates and he will certainly come into it with a pro rate-cutting view,' Glaeser said. 'But he will listen to his colleagues and do his best to be a decent member of this group.' – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025
