The most disturbing thing about White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer has nothing to do with “alternative facts.” What’s truly chilling is his daily intake of chewing gum.
The Trump administration spokesman claims to chew—and swallow!—two and a half packs of Orbit cinnamon gum by noon every day, according to a Washington Post profile from August, which has been making the rounds again lately.
“I talked to my doctor about it, he said it’s no problem,” Spicer told the Post.
Never mind the flatulence and diarrhea that he’s likely experiencing with all that sorbitol. That much gum could add up to serious financial investment over time. Knowing how much Spicer likes to spout huge numbers, here’s our breakdown of what his habit might look like annually:
Packs per day: 2.5
Packs per year: 912.5
Pieces of gum per year: 12,775
Pieces of gum per four-year presidential term: 51,100
Calories ingested from gum annually: 63,875
Cost per year (individual packs at CVS): $1,359.63
Cost per year (Amazon bulk purchasing): $574.88
Amount the money for those bulk gum purchases would earn over 10 years in a low-cost index fund returning an annualized 7 percent interest: $33,731
Additional reporting by Luke Mullins and Andrew Beaujon
Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.
Caroline Cunningham joined Washingtonian in 2014 after moving to the DC area from Cincinnati, where she interned and freelanced for Cincinnati Magazine and worked in content marketing. She currently resides in College Park.
Jessica Sidman covers the people and trends behind D.C.’s food and drink scene. Before joining Washingtonian in July 2016, she was Food Editor and Young & Hungry columnist at Washington City Paper. She is a Colorado native and University of Pennsylvania grad.
