His team says President Donald Trump has lost 20-30 pounds the old-fashioned way, but speculation is growing that he might have had a little help.
Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler suggested this week that the president might be using what Trump has dubbed the “fat shot,” a GLP-1 variation.
“They’ve not denied it, let’s put it this way. They’ve not said he is on it, right? But they’ve not denied it,” said Kessler while pitching his latest book at Washington’s Politics and Prose store.
Kessler, who lost nearly a third of his weight while using a GLP-1 and whose latest book is about diet, noted anecdotal evidence that the president hasn’t changed his diet enough to look lighter.
For example, he cited reports that the Saudi government brought in a McDonald’s food truck for Trump during his visit there last week.
“I do note that what happened was the Saudis had an 18-wheeler that was made into a McDonald’s,” said the medical doctor. “I mean, it followed him around in Saudi Arabia, so it doesn’t sound like he’s changed his diet.”
Kessler said that humans can lose 5% to 7% in normal dieting. In his latest physical, Trump was down 20 pounds from the 244 he weighed when he left office in 2021. And Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reported that he has dropped 30 pounds.
Kessler said that diet and exercise would be good for a bit less than that under his 5% to 7% rule. “That’s 10 [pounds]. I mean, some people, there’s great variability. They lose hundreds of pounds, right? Some of the White House press corps are saying he’s literally, you know, lost 30. You can do the math,” he said.
No matter, he added, because “it’s great” that the president is losing weight, and he said that if a drug helps, that’s OK too. “It is a teachable moment. There is no issue. Look, if he’s losing weight, it’s great. He’s taking care of his lipids, that’s great. Everybody should be able to do that. There shouldn’t be any shame or stigma attached.”
The White House, however, has said that the president is simply working hard and weight loss is a benefit. Trump’s doctor said after his recent physical, “His active lifestyle continues to contribute significantly to his well-being.”
Kennedy recently told Fox’s Sean Hannity that he believes the president has lost 30 pounds.
Hannity attributed the weight loss to cutting carbohydrates. “If he has a burger now, he usually doesn’t have it with a bun,” Hannity said.
Trump told Fox in 2024 that he has lost weight “the hard way: I work.”
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The president is a well-known consumer of McDonald’s and Diet Coke. He is also a fan of bar-b-que, In-N-Out burgers, and Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Trump dubbed GLP-1s the “fat shot” recently when he told a story about a friend who uses it.