Speculation that President Donald Trump secretly received an experimental weight loss drug has been firmly denied by multiple White House officials after reports linked him to an unnamed patient granted early access to the medication.
Donald Trump passed his latest physical with mostly flying colors, but his doctor handed him some homework on the way out. There was one notable concern: Trump’s weight.
The president currently weights 238 lbs, and Doctor Sean Barbabella counseled him on changing his diet and getting more physical activity in.
According to Tyla, Barbabella wrote: “Preventive counselling was provided, including guidance on diet, recommendation to take a low-dose aspirin, increased physical activity, and continued weight loss.”
Recently, rumors started circulating about Trump following a report from health news outlet STAT, which revealed that the Food and Drug Administration and Eli Lilly approved a 79-year-old to receive the experimental drug retatrutide through the agency’s “compassionate use” program.
It allows patients with serious illnesses to access experimental treatments when no approved alternatives remain. The patient was reportedly seeking treatment for “refractory obesity with obstructive sleep apnea and pulmonary hypertension,” a possibly fatal condition involving high blood pressure in the lungs, according to VT.
Donald Trump’s weight
Sources told STAT the request drew attention from senior health officials, with one describing the patient as “well connected.”
Because of the patient’s age, online speculation quickly pointed to the president. The White House, however, strongly rejected the claims.
“This application was not for the President,” White House spokesman Kush Desai wrote on X, calling the rumors “baseless speculation,” according to VT.
White House communications director Steven Cheung also dismissed the report, accusing the outlet of “peddling falsehoods.”
A separate White House rapid response account responded even more bluntly to online claims, writing: “No, it isn’t President Trump. You people are sick,” while also condemning what it described as “bulls*** from the usual suspects.”
STAT reporter Lizzy Lawrence said she repeatedly contacted both federal health officials and the White House before publishing the story, but did not receive a clear answer. The Department of Health and Human Services later referred questions back to Desai’s public statement.
Trump about weight loss medication
An Eli Lilly spokesperson declined to discuss the specific case but explained how the process works.
“In rare situations, when individuals can’t join a clinical trial and have run out of treatment options, Lilly may provide an investigational medicine in coordination with a requesting physician. We make these decisions following all applicable regulations. We do not comment on the specifics of individual cases.”
Trump has addressed questions about weight loss medications in the past. In January he was asked whether he had taken drugs such as Wegovy or Ozempic, to which he replied: “No, I have not. I probably should.”
