Nicolai Haugsted
Rumors about Donald Trump’s health force White House into public denial
Questions about Donald Trump’s health have taken another unexpected turn after online speculation connected the president to an unnamed patient who reportedly received early access to an experimental obesity treatment.
The rumors spread quickly after details emerged about a 79-year-old patient approved to receive the investigational drug retatrutide through the US Food and Drug Administration’s compassionate use program. Before long, the White House found itself publicly pushing back against claims that the patient was Trump.
Reports fueled online speculation
According to Newsner, health news outlet STAT reported that the FDA and pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly had authorized a seriously ill 79-year-old patient to receive the experimental medication outside of a clinical trial.
According to the report, the patient was being treated for “refractory obesity with obstructive sleep apnea and pulmonary hypertension” under the agency’s compassionate use pathway, which allows patients with life-threatening conditions to access investigational drugs when no approved alternatives remain.
Sources also described the patient as “well connected,” prompting widespread speculation online that the individual could be the president.
White House issues firm denial
The Trump administration quickly dismissed the claims.
“This application was not for the President,” White House spokesman Kush Desai wrote on X, describing the reports as “baseless speculation.”
White House communications director Steven Cheung also rejected the suggestion, accusing critics of “peddling falsehoods.”
Meanwhile, a separate White House rapid response account responded even more bluntly, posting: “No, it isn’t President Trump. You people are sick,” while condemning what it called “bulls*** from the usual suspects.”
The speculation surfaced shortly after Trump’s latest annual physical.
Although White House physician Dr. Sean Barbabella concluded that the president was generally in good health, the report noted that Trump weighed 238 pounds and advised him to continue losing weight, improve his diet and increase his level of physical activity.
The physician also recommended preventive measures, including a daily low-dose aspirin.
Trump has addressed weight-loss drugs before
Questions about medications such as Ozempic and Wegovy are not entirely new for the president.
Earlier this year, Trump was asked whether he had ever used popular weight-loss drugs.
His answer was brief.
“No, I have not. I probably should.”
Eli Lilly declined to comment on the identity of the patient mentioned in the STAT report but said compassionate use requests are only considered in rare cases involving patients who cannot participate in clinical trials and have exhausted other treatment options.
