This is the question that agitates all of Washington politics.
Is Donald Trump on Wegovy, the obesity treatment very popular among Palm Beach stars and billionaires?
It is generally agreed that at 77 the former president has lost weight.
And it's not just due to the stress of his legal troubles or the rigors of the electoral campaign, if a letter from his doctor is to be believed.
Dr. Bruce Aronwald praises
his patient's "
excellent " health and assures that he has "
reduced his weight through improved diet and daily physical activity
."
Without giving details.
Donald Trump in an interview on Fox News in late January said he had lost “
maybe 6 or 9
” pounds.
“
By what means
,” asked the journalist.
“
By the hard way.
I'm so busy that I don't have the opportunity to eat much
,” replied the former president campaigning for the White House.
Comments which immediately sparked much speculation: could this sudden big loss of kilos explain the slips of the tongue and the confusion of the Republican candidate in recent months?
According to the
New York Post
, it is to Melania and not to Wegovy that we owe this slimming diet.
She pushed him to adopt a more balanced diet and to resist the gargantuan buffets at Mar-a-lago, his Florida club.
“He eats healthier” and “
no longer gorges himself on Sundae ice creams or chocolate cakes with two scoops of vanilla ice cream
,” says the tabloid’s source.
A feat because the former president's diet has never been a model of dietetics.
During a stop at a McDonald's, his favorite restaurant, he proclaimed that he knew “
the menu better than anyone
”.
His usual meal consists of two Big Macs, two Filet-O-Fishes and a chocolate milkshake, which is over 2,000 calories.
A taboo for Trump
Americans' fascination with Trump's waistline is not new.
In August, social networks were ablaze with the idea that we would finally know his real weight.
As part of his Georgia indictment, he was required to report to the Fulton County Jail and undergo a summary medical examination.
But the results were met with skepticism.
He weighed 97 kilos and was 1.90 m tall, 11 kilos less and 2.5 cm taller than he declared in court in Manhattan in April!
“
97?”
This is a wild lie
,” tweeted Rick Wilson, an anti-Trump political consultant.
Uncharitable souls juxtaposed the photo of the former president with that of Lamar Jackson, the quarterback of an American football team, who displays the same measurements.
The presidential silhouette was clearly more covered…
If his health arouses so much curiosity, like that of Joe Biden, 81, it is because Donald Trump has never been very transparent.
In 2016, he refused to publish his medical assessment, as all candidates do.
He simply released the letter from his doctor at the time who assured that “
no individual elected to the presidency was in better health
”.
Dr. Harold Bornstein later admitted that Trump had dictated the letter.
In 2018, the White House physician announced that he weighed 108 kilograms, a figure coincidentally just short of the “obese” category.
And when Donald Trump was hospitalized in 2020 for covid, the seriousness of his condition was hidden from Americans.
The ex-president's overweight is at least to the delight of comedians and stars.
“
If he asked me what exercise to do, I'd say
, 'Run around your body three times, and you'll be in great shape,'” actor Arnold Schwarzenegger joked.