President Donald Trump used a White House dinner for congressional Republicans to highlight the high cost of prescription drugs in the U.S., but his argument took an unexpected turn when he mocked an unnamed Wall Street friend as "extremely obese" and said his weight-loss medication appeared not to be working.
Speaking Wednesday, Sept. 2, Trump said the New York businessman had told him he paid $86 for Ozempic in London compared with $1,300 in New York. Trump presented the disparity as an example of the international drug-price differences his administration is seeking to reduce.
The president then shifted from the cost of the medication to his friend's appearance.
"I said, you're an extremely obese person," Trump recalled telling the man. "It's not working. You look like shit."
The remarks quickly drew attention online, overshadowing the policy argument Trump had been making about prescription costs. Critics seized on the president's comments, while social-media users speculated about the identity of the businessman despite Trump declining to name him.
Trump described the man as one of the "top guys on Wall Street" and said he was from New York. He characterized his friend as "brutal," "vicious," and "wild," while also describing him as highly intelligent.
According to Trump, the businessman had repeatedly asked the president not to disclose his identity because doing so would "destroy his reputation." Trump offered another detail about their relationship, saying the man once addressed him as "Donny" but now calls him "president," a change Trump interpreted as a sign of respect.
None of those descriptions establishes the person's identity. Trump didn't name the businessman, and there is no verified evidence linking a particular Wall Street executive to the anecdote.
The story was intended to reinforce Trump's argument that Americans have historically paid substantially more for certain prescription medicines than consumers overseas. Trump said he checked his friend's claim about Ozempic and believed the medication sold in London and New York came from the same factory.
Trump said he also asked the businessman whether he was taking other "fat drugs." After the friend said he was, Trump repeated his assessment: "It's not working. You look like shit."
The anecdote prompted an immediate response from Trump's political critics. Liberal commentator Vince Wilson turned the president's remarks back on him, writing: "Trump is talking about himself. Piggy was looking in the mirror."
Reporter Aaron Rupar focused more broadly on Trump's behavior, arguing that the president being "a lunatic" remained the biggest story in American politics. Meidas Touch highlighted the contrast between the White House's political agenda and Trump's remarks, writing: "Checking in on Trump's midterm messaging."
The comments came during a politically important stretch for Trump as he seeks to make affordability and the cost of living central issues ahead of the November midterm elections. Prescription-drug prices have provided the administration with an opportunity to argue that government action can lower household expenses, particularly for medicines that command dramatically different prices across countries.
Trump has used the unnamed businessman before to make essentially the same point. In June, he described a "very brilliant" businessman who encountered a substantial difference between the price of a weight-loss drug in New York and London.
