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White House denies report of Trump taking experimental weight-loss drug
The report's scrutiny comes amid months of visible health concerns surrounding Trump, including hand bruising he has attributed to frequent handshaking and regular aspirin use
- PUBLISHED: Fri 26 Jun 2026, 1:42 PM
The White House on June 23 denied that US President Donald Trump had received early access to an experimental weight-loss drug, after a STAT News report claimed a 79-year-old patient had obtained the medication through the FDA's "compassionate use" program.
The STAT report found that the patient received access to retatrutide, an experimental obesity drug made by Eli Lilly that has not yet been approved by the FDA. The request for access was made in April, when Trump was also 79.
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The same day, Senator Maggie Hassan sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., saying she was "deeply concerned" by the reports, according to Forbes.
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Separately, Representative Ted Lieu speculated that Trump might have called off a scheduled bill-signing event because he was experiencing side effects from the medication.
Lieu even went as far as suggesting the president could be dealing with a life-threatening illness, citing instances where Trump has appeared to fall asleep during Cabinet and Oval Office meetings.
White House communications director Steven Cheung fired back at Lieu on social media, mocking him personally and suggesting he'd spent hours hoping his claim would land as a joke.
According to the original STAT News investigation, the drug request came from Ranganath Muniyappa, a senior NIH clinician, who said it was intended for a patient dealing with treatment-resistant obesity, obstructive sleep apnea, and pulmonary hypertension.
The report's scrutiny comes amid months of visible health concerns surrounding Trump, including hand bruising he has attributed to frequent handshaking and regular aspirin use, swollen ankles, and a chronic venous insufficiency diagnosis he received last year, a condition often seen in people over 70.
