The White House has pushed back on speculation that Donald Trump was given access to an experimental weight-loss treatment.
Online discussion recently centered on claims that Trump may have been prescribed retatrutide, a drug Eli Lilly is still developing. Retatrutide is an investigational “triple-agonist” that acts on three hormone pathways involved in appetite and blood-sugar regulation, and it has been closely watched because early studies have suggested it could produce greater weight loss than some currently approved GLP-1 medicines.
Even so, the drug has not yet reached the public market. Eli Lilly is still testing it in phase 3 clinical trials, meaning it has not received FDA approval and is not currently available for general use outside research settings.
The speculation appears to have followed reporting on a special access process that can sometimes allow a patient to receive an investigational drug under compassionate circumstances.
STAT reported on June 23 that a 79-year-old man had an application submitted on his behalf in April, and that the FDA signed off on the request.
The FDA explains the ‘Expanded Access’ program as a “potential pathway for a patient with a serious or immediately life-threatening disease or condition to gain access to an investigational medical product (drug, biologic, or medical device) for treatment outside of clinical trials when no comparable or satisfactory alternative therapy options are available”.
Reporter Lizzy Lawrence highlighted the case on social media, writing: “Sources told STAT that application drew interest from top health officials. Given the demographics and the peculiar nature of the application, I asked the WH if this patient was President Trump, who turned 80 a week ago. I did not get a direct answer.”
The White House later denied that the application had anything to do with Trump, and did so in a sharply worded response aimed at Lawrence.
After sharing the message on social media, they wrote: “No, it wasn’t President Trump — and you people are truly sick and deranged.”
Kush Desai, who is described in his his X profile as a ‘Special Assistant to the President & White House Senior Deputy Press Secretary’, also responded to the post on X, writing: “Because this has to be spelled out for @LizzyLaw_, who has proven herself to be an unserious gossip columnist, this application was not for the President.”
As is customary for a sitting president, Trump receives routine medical checkups. In a May 2026 memo released by the White House after his latest physical, White House physician Dr. Sean Barbabella said Trump “remains in excellent health,” while also recommending that he lose weight and exercise more.
In May, White House physician Dr. Sean Barbabella wrote: “President Trump remains in excellent health, demonstrating strong cardiac, pulmonary, neurological, and overall physical function.”
Dr Barbabella added: “Cognitive and physical performance are excellent. He is fully fit to carry out all duties of the Commander-in-Chief and Head of State.”