Ex-Strategist Says Trump Is Jonesing For 1 Thing In Court: ‘It’s Probably Killing Him’

Donald Trump is likely missing one particular home comfort during his hush money trial, a former campaign strategist for the ex-president said Thursday.
David Urban told CNN’s Erin Burnett that the presumptive GOP nominee “sitting there for hours and hours and hours without a Diet Coke, it’s probably killing him, it’s probably killing him.”
“He’s usually, I’m sure, very caffeinated during the day,” Urban, a longtime Republican lobbyist, explained. “As folks who know, drink Cokes and Diet Cokes. If you’re missing one or two a day, let alone, I’m sure he’s missing probably about ten a day. It’s probably rough.”
Urban’s comment came amid a discussion on Trump’s reported nodding off in court, which New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman said Trump sources this week told her was “100% true.”
That didn’t stop Trump from going on a tear on his Truth Social platform, however, when he claimed it was fake news, and he was just closing his “beautiful blue eyes” to “take it ALL in!!!”
The “beautiful blue eyes” line was “classic Trump,” said Urban. “He’s trying to make light of the situation a little bit and say, ‘Look, I’m not sleeping.’”
5.2.24 238 pm ET CNN Anchor Erin Burnett @ErinBurnett w/CNN Reporter, Alayna Treene @alaynatreene CNN Senior Political Commentator and Republican Strategist, David Urban @DavidJUrban pic.twitter.com/5OCqnt3ovO
Trump’s penchant for Diet Coke is well documented, despite his slamming of Coca-Cola products as “garbage” in a 2012 post on Twitter, the platform now known as X.
When Trump was president, he reportedly drank up to a dozen Diet Coke every day. His habit was fed via a red button on his desk in the Oval Office. When it was pressed, a White House butler would deliver the beverage to him on a silver tray. The button was removed when Joe Biden became president.
In 2021, the Washingtonian magazine shared the “Standard Operating Procedure” that staffers at the BLT Prime steakhouse at Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., would adhere to whenever Trump ordered the drink.
Among other things, it detailed the exact way the bottles should be presented, opened in front of Trump, and placed on his right-hand side.
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