(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) Former President Donald Trump revealed in a podcast interview this week with comedian Theo Von that his well-known aversion to drugs, alcohol and cigarettes was influenced by the lifelong struggle with addiction that he witnessed in his older brother, Fred Trump Jr.
“I had a great brother who taught me a lesson: Don’t drink,” said the GOP presidential nominee.
“And he said don’t smoke,” Trump added. “He smoked and he drank … He was quite a bit older. I tell people: no drugs, no drinking, no cigarettes—I tell that to my kids all the time.”
Fred left the family business to become a pilot, which he eventually had to give up due to his alcoholism.
According to Trump, there were several moments where they thought they would lose Fred.
Sadly, he died in 1981—at the age of 42—from a heart attack related to alcohol abuse.
“He was old enough that you would look up to somebody,” Trump recalled. “I admired so much about him—he had the look, unbelievable personality.”
Von and Trump also discussed the difficulties that many people face when recovering from addiction.
“I would say that if I did drink I could conceivably be the type of personality that would have a problem,” Trump said. “The only thing I could say to people is if you don’t drink you don’t miss it—I don’t even think about alcohol or cigarettes, I don’t think about any of that.”
In a viral moment from the interview, Von said he had struggled with drugs and alcohol a great deal over the last 10 years but was two years clean and sober.
He further admitted that he struggled with the temptation to do drugs constantly.
“I would just do cocaine,” he said. “That was really—yeah.”
Trump seemed surprised by the comedian’s candid confession, appearing to turn the interview on Von to grill him about his experiences with the narcotic.
“That’s down and dirty, right?” he said.
Theo Von teaching Donald Trump about cocaine is the funniest thing I’ve seen all year pic.twitter.com/OVPHLENcZx
— Adam Foster (@AdamFostermusic) August 20, 2024
Von then explained that it eventually became too much for him.
“Some of the stuff started to get a real rattle—I don’t know where we were even getting it from in this country,” he said.
“… It started to make me feel like I was a mechanic or something,” he added. “Cocaine will turn you into a damn owl, homie, you know what I’m saying? You’ll be out on your own porch, you’ll be your own street lamp.”
