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Published 11:48 25 Jun 2026 GMT
Several White House officials have pushed back against speculation that Donald Trump was the unnamed patient who reportedly received early access to an experimental weight loss drug.
The claims stem from a report by health outlet STAT, which revealed that Eli Lilly and the Food and Drug Administration granted a 79-year-old patient access to the drug retatrutide under “compassionate use.”
This pathway allows individuals with serious medical conditions to receive experimental treatments when no other options are available.
According to the report, the patient was seeking treatment for “refractory obesity with obstructive sleep apnea and pulmonary hypertension,” a potentially life-threatening condition involving high blood pressure in the lungs.
Sources suggested the request attracted attention from senior health officials, with one describing the individual as “well connected.”
Because the patient’s age aligned with Trump’s at the time, speculation quickly spread that the president could be involved. The White House, however, firmly rejected the idea.
“This application was not for the President,” White House spokesman Kush Desai wrote on X, dismissing the claims as “baseless speculation.”
Communications director Steven Cheung also criticized the reporting, accusing the outlet of “peddling falsehoods.”
A separate White House rapid response account went further, responding to online commentary by saying: “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 had contacted federal health officials and the White House multiple times before publishing but did not receive clear answers.
The Department of Health and Human Services directed inquiries back to Desai’s statement.
Meanwhile, an Eli Lilly spokesperson explained the process more generally, saying: “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.”
The situation has drawn additional attention due to Trump’s past access to experimental treatments. During the Covid-19 pandemic, he received an antibody therapy before it was widely approved.
Trump has also previously addressed questions about weight loss drugs. When asked in January whether he had taken medications like Wegovy or Ozempic, he replied: “No, I have not. I probably should.”
Ongoing speculation about his health has been fueled by visible bruising on his hands and instances where he appeared to fall asleep during public events. Now aged 80, Trump is the oldest person to assume the U.S. presidency.
Despite this, his physician, Dr. Sean Barbabella, stated after a recent medical exam that Trump “remains in excellent health, demonstrating strong cardiac, pulmonary, neurological and overall physical function.”
Even so, scrutiny has continued over what some reports describe as an “extraordinary number” of specialist consultations and additional medical evaluations outside his annual checkup.
The debate around presidential health transparency echoes similar concerns raised during the final months of Joe Biden’s presidency, when questions about age and fitness for office became a major political issue.
