Donald Trump always seems prepared with a fresh tale — and somehow, the specifics tend to be just audacious enough to feel almost unreal.
This time, the octogenarian president stepped onto the stage and launched into another vivid anecdote about a so-called “friend,” complete with the dramatic setup and punchline that have become a familiar hallmark of his speeches.
Trump has repeatedly turned unnamed friends, private conversations and supposedly personal encounters into larger-than-life stories to make his point, and this instance followed the same pattern.
As Trump pressed on, it became clear this was the same hefty friend he has repeatedly referenced.
The “fat drug” remains a recurring punchline in the 80-year-old’s speeches about drug prices, even as questions about his own appearance drew attention.
A White House medical report from May listed Trump’s weight at 238 pounds — up 14 pounds from the 224 pounds recorded in his April 2025 physical.
The 80-year-old weighed 215 pounds in 2023 when he was booked into Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, Georgia.
Critics contend that age may have shaved inches off his height, despite White House medical reports listing him at 6 feet 3 inches.
‘Seriously’: Trump Issues Bizarre Compliment On Live TV — Then Asks a Wild Question About His Own Body That Opens the Floodgates
Photos of Trump beside figures like his sons Don Jr. and Eric Trump dispute the tall tale. His swollen appearance in recent months, however, has not been addressed.
Yet there is no denying that Trump’s physique is more stout in 2026 than in years past.
Unflattering camera angles make his backside appear padded. Some speculate the extra mass could be due to a ventricular assist device, or LVAD, which helps pump blood from the heart’s lower chambers to the rest of the body and is used to treat heart failure, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Trump’s suit jackets leave little slack around the arms. Not to mention, the buttons look strained, often appearing ready to pop with a single breath.
Remarks like “that button is holding on for dear life” have become as common as jokes about Trump’s orange-toned skin.
However, the former real estate mogul seems to overlook his own physical flaws, choosing instead to cast stones at others.
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A heckler’s response to his recycled yarn read, “Obese Piggy as usual is staring at himself in the mirror while he delivers these lines. Projection, projection, projection. Right Piggy?” Another asked, “What kind of “friend” is this?”
A third person chimed in, “The irony of him saying someone looks like rubbish.”
People online reminded him that his latest, conspicuous weight gain is visible in nearly every White House photo.
“Omg. Trump, you’re getting fatter by the day. Just keep quiet,” blasted one critic.
The former businessman has previously admitted that he could stand to shed a few pounds. “I probably should,” he told The New York Times in January.
Depending on Trump’s BMI, his heft could place him in the overweight or obese category.
Reports surfaced in June that Eli Lilly granted “compassionate use” of its experimental obesity drug, retatrutide, to a 79-year-old patient.
Internet sleuths concluded the patient was well-connected, likely facing other health issues, and inferred it had to be Trump.
The administration pushback emphasized, “No, it wasn’t President Trump — and you people are truly sick and deranged.”
Trump’s sharp edge ultimately overshadowed the gathering with lawmakers.
Rather than heralding an agreement to reduce prescription drug costs, he spurred renewed scrutiny of his own appearance.
