Former President Donald Trump created a viral moment during a White House roundtable on rural healthcare. He shared a blunt and personal story about a mystery friend's experience with weight-loss medications. The event, held on Friday, January 16, saw Trump, 79, describe an unnamed man he called wealthy, powerful, and overweight.
A Rich Friend and the "Fat Drug"
About ten minutes into the hour-long discussion, Trump began his tale. He referred to his friend as a very smart, very rich, and very powerful individual. "He's very fat and he took the fat... I call it the fat drug," Trump stated. He paused briefly before revealing, "It was Ozempic... I won't tell you that."
Trump painted a vivid picture of this friend. He said the man could not walk across the street easily. The friend was in London on one of his many business trips at the time. According to Trump, this wealthy individual pays $1,300 for Ozempic in New York but only $87 in London.
Questioning Effectiveness and Honesty
Trump highlighted the price gap as "too much to bear." He also questioned the drug's effectiveness for his friend. "After I told him that the drug does not work on him because I saw him recently and he's actually fatter than ever," Trump explained. He added, "I said, 'The drug is not working on you, you're going to have to go to something else but it does work on a lot of people.'"
The friend reportedly responded with, "Thanks, you make me feel good." Trump countered with, "Well, I gotta be truthful. Always tell the truth." His remarks quickly spread across social media platforms, attracting both criticism and speculation.
Not the First Time for This Story
This anecdote was not new. Trump had referenced the same mystery friend months earlier, in May 2025. At that time, he attacked pharmaceutical companies over drug pricing. He described a "very rich, very neurotic, brilliant businessman" who bought his "fat shot" medication for $88 in London compared to $1,300 in New York.
"I said, 'It's not working,'" Trump quipped during that earlier appearance. He mocked the man's weight while criticizing drugmakers for charging vastly different prices. Both stories connected to Trump's broader push to lower prescription drug costs in the United States.
Broader Healthcare Initiatives
"Whoever is paying the lowest, we match it," Trump declared during the January roundtable. In November 2025, the Trump administration announced a significant price reduction for Ozempic. The cost would drop from between $1,000 and $1,350 per month to $350 through TrumpRx.
Trump detailed that Medicare and Medicaid recipients would pay $245 a month starting mid-2026. The lowest price, $149 per month, would apply to oral versions not yet available. "For years, politicians have talked about making health care affordable," Trump said during the November press conference. "But my administration is actually doing it."
Online Speculation and Backlash
Trump's comments sparked immediate online speculation. Users scrambled to guess the identity of the unnamed friend. Some floated names like Leon Black and Elon Musk, who has publicly admitted using weight-loss drugs. Others suggested the man might not exist at all.
One user wrote, "Oh, another one of Trump's (nonexistent) friends, very powerful, very rich.... Tears in his eyes?" Many criticized Trump for fat-shaming, regardless of the story's subject. "I feel bad for President Trump's friend. Whoever he is," one person commented. The incident highlighted ongoing debates about healthcare affordability and personal storytelling in politics.
