Donald Trump has been known to pick rather random targets in his long-winded speeches – but the latest rant to go viral is, indeed, a fake.
On Friday, screenshots quoting Mr Trump on a tirade against lemonade spread like wildfire across the internet following a post by comedian Keaton Patti.
“I knew he’d get to Panera lemonade eventually,” Mr Patti wrote in a post on X. Fast-casual restaurant chain Panera is currently facing two lawsuits blaming its caffeinated Charged Lemonade for the deaths of two people.
Captions of Mr Patti’s photos of the ex-president and 2024 frontrunner giving a rally speech read:
“Everything is bad under Biden. Even the lemonade is killing people. Did you see that? People drink lemonade and die.”
“The lemonade didn’t kill you when I was President. It was tasty and fun to drink. We loved the lemonade, didn’t we?”
“We did, but not under Biden. Bacon is more money. Gas is more money. The lemonade is more money and it kills you.”
“When life hands you lemons, Joe Biden kills you with them.”
The screenshots appeared to have been taken from a recent Trump speech in Iowa. But a review of that speech showed Mr Trump never actually made those remarks – and doesn’t appear to have ever addressed the controversy surrounding Panera’s lemonade.
Panera was first sued in October over the death of Ivy League student Sarah Katz, 21, who went into cardiac arrest in September 2022 hours after buying a Charged Lemonade.
A second lawsuit was filed in December by the family of Dennis Brown, who suffered cardiac arrest after drinking three Charged Lemonades from a Panera in Florida on 9 October.
The Charged Lemonade contains more caffeine than cans of Red Bull and Monster Energy combined, plus the equivalent of nearly 30 teaspoons of sugar, according to the lawsuits.
The suits argue that Panera failed to appropriately warn customers about the ingredients of the “dangerous energy drink”.
The chain advertised the item as “Plant-based and Clean with as much caffeine as our Dark Roast coffee,” but the lawsuits allege a large, 30-fluid-ounce Charged Lemonade has more caffeine in total than any size of Panera’s dark roast coffee.
Panera has stood by the safety of its products – while expressing condolences to the families of Katz and Brown.
“Based on our investigation we believe his unfortunate passing was not caused by one of the company’s products,” the company said in a statement in response to the Brown lawsuit. “We view this lawsuit, which was filed by the same law firm as a previous claim, to be equally without merit. Panera stands firmly by the safety of our products.”
Following Ms Katz’s death, Panera put more detailed disclosures in all of its restaurants and on its website warning customers to consume the Charged Lemonade in moderation, stating that it is not recommended for children, people sensitive to caffeine or pregnant or nursing women.
