A short video clip from a lavish state banquet in Beijing has lit up social media, showing President Donald Trump raising a champagne flute in a toast with Chinese President Xi Jinping and taking a quick sip.
The footage, widely shared by some news outlets, immediately raised questions about whether the president had violated his long-standing rule against drinking alcohol. Within hours, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung responded and pushed back hard.
“The insinuation here is false by suggesting that he would somehow compromise himself for a toast,” Cheung wrote on X on Friday, May 15. He then added, “President Trump doesn’t drink alcohol.”
The moment happened during a formal dinner on May 14 at the Great Hall of the People. Trump and Xi toasted each other as part of standard diplomatic protocol.
Business leaders, including Elon Musk, Tim Cook, and Jensen Huang, attended the event following talks between the two leaders.
Trump and Alcohol
The president has never hidden his reasons for staying away from alcohol. His older brother, Fred Trump Jr., struggled with alcoholism and died in 1981 at age 42.
Trump has spoken many times about how Fred warned him against drinking and smoking. He has said he took that advice to heart and has never had a drink in his life.
Those close to him say the president sometimes raises a glass at official events out of respect for hosts and tradition, but rarely, if ever, actually drinks the contents.
In the Beijing video, Trump lifts the flute, takes a sip, grimaces, and quickly sets it down, a reaction some supporters noted as evidence it was likely non-alcoholic or simply not to his taste.
Still, the clip spread fast online as some critics used it to question Trump’s consistency or suggest weakness in dealings with China. Others mocked the facial expression the President put on.
Trump’s supporters called the attention ridiculous, arguing it was a nothing story blown up for social media likes and views.
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Trump’s political life has been a constant examination of minor personal details. His no-alcohol stance is well established, but every public event with a glass brings fresh scrutiny.
During his first term and campaign stops, Trump often told the story of his brother. Fred was a commercial pilot whose life unraveled due to drinking.
The president has credited his brother’s warnings with keeping him away from alcohol entirely.
“He really helped me,” Trump said in past interviews. “To this day I’ve never had a drink, and I have no longing for it.”
White House officials say the Beijing toast followed normal diplomatic practice. State banquets in China and elsewhere routinely include toasts with wine or champagne.
Sometimes a flat-out refusal can lead to awkwardness with hosts.
Director Cheung’s terse response was designed to quash any story that the president of the United States had changed his ways or showed any sign of weakness.
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The trip to Beijing was more about trade talks and high-level meetings than the champagne moment.
White House officials said the visit delivered some real progress, particularly on boosting American agricultural purchases by China and tightening efforts to stop fentanyl from pouring into the United States.
Even though no sweeping new trade deal was announced, both sides made clear they wanted to avoid a return to a full-blown tariff war.
Trump, speaking to reporters afterward, sounded pleased with the outcome. He said the talks resolved issues “that other people wouldn’t have been able to solve.”
He described Xi as a strong leader and stressed that personal chemistry between leaders still matters in high-stakes diplomacy.
Trump then invited Xi to visit the White House in September. Both sides tried to project stability after years of tensions.
