Does a viral video prove U.S. President Donald Trump refused to drink coffee in Saudi Arabia in May 2025? A longer version of the viral clip showed him gazing around while holding the untouched coffee cup, as other reception participants, including the host, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, took one or more sips. Yet, the footage does not offer a definitive answer as to whether Trump consumed coffee on that occasion or not. Here is what we know about the scene in question.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X on May 13, 2025. It opened:
Never drink or eat from an unknown source. A valuable lesson right here.
Here is how the post appeared on X at the time of writing:
(Source: X screenshot by Lead Stories)
The footage was recent. Trump's and bin Salman's outfits matched what they had worn earlier that day when the American delegation was greeted by their Saudi counterparts at the airport upon Air Force One's arrival in the nation's capital, Riyadh.
The heavily edited 56-second clip on X originated from massive television coverage of the May 13, 2025 visit to Saudi Arabia, which was broadcast, among others, by France 24, Fox News, and a Saudi state-funded TV channel (archived here).
As reported by the AP (archived here), the coffee reception took place at the airport's royal terminal.
Yet, no available version of the footage provided an answer as to whether Trump actually tried the coffee, and that is due to the cuts: Right after a moment when he appears to look around after being served the cup, we see the scene from an extra-wide shot, obscuring the details, and when the following frame shows Trump from a closer distance again, he places the cup on the coffee table separating him from the crown prince. Thus, it's unclear if it still held any liquid by then.
At the same time, another clip (archived here) concerning Trump's coffee consumption in Saudi Arabia started making rounds on social media under the caption that read, "He drank the whole cup🤣". The background in that 4-second video, however, was different from the airport's setting, and, thus, it clearly did not show the same scene. Lead Stories searched but was not able to locate a longer version of this clip, which raised questions about its origin and authenticity.
If comprehensive uncut continuous footage from a single camera becomes available, we will update.
It is fair to say that Trump is not widely known as a coffee lover, but how frequently he consumes it (if ever) remains unclear.
During Trump's first presidential campaign in 2016, the New York Times (archived here) wrote that he avoids not only alcohol but also tea and coffee, preferring Diet Coke instead. Yet, months before that year's election, the Miami Herald (archived here) spotted then-candidate Trump ordering coffee while campaigning to win Latino votes in Florida.
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