Is Donald Trump taking a miracle drug to lose weight?

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The presidency comes with certain perks: a taxpayer-funded plane, a lifetime pension and a White House staff to attend to the commander in chief’s every need. But for Donald Trump, another advantage could be early access to what could be the world’s most effective weight-loss drug. Today we break down the story that has everyone speculating.

Backup. What the hell are you talking about?

The medical news site STAT reported this morning that the Food and Drug Administration and drugmaker Eli Lilly recently granted a 79-year-old man access to an obesity drug called retatrutide. (If you can pronounce that, you win a prize.) The anonymous man applied for retatrutide in April under the FDA’s “compassionate use” program, which gives seriously ill patients access to treatments still in development. A prominent National Institutes of Health clinician made the request, suggesting the patient is politically well-connected.

A politically connected man who was 79 in April? That…sounds a lot like the president.

It is! Trump, who just turned 80, fits this profile. He is also obsessed with weight loss drugs – he regularly mentions knowing someone who takes “the big shot” – and is sensitive about his own weight. The White House has denied that he is the patient in question, and it could certainly be someone else: for example, a member of Congress or a family member of a high-ranking official. Then again, the White House has also called Trump’s health “superhuman,” so take those denials for what they’re worth.

But why would Trump – or anyone – need retatrutide if other weight-loss drugs are available?

Good question. Retatrutide is, according to Lilly’s data, simply better. In a clinical trial, it helped obese patients lose significantly more weight (28 percent on average) than drugs currently on the market. Lilly also makes a similar medication called Zepbound, but it doesn’t work for everyone. According to information from STAT, the mystery patient in question took Zepbound for a year without much success.

If it’s Trump, what does that say about his health?

You are not wrong to ask yourself the question. Presidents have long tried to hide details about their health, and Trump is no exception. He keeps going to the doctor, has bruises on both hands and brags about passing dementia tests. The mystery patient reportedly needs retatrutide to treat obesity, sleep apnea and pulmonary hypertension, a life-threatening condition that Trump has not admitted to having. So maybe he’s sicker than we think. Or maybe Trump, a habitual liar who claims he doesn’t take weight-loss drugs, simply demanded the latest and greatest whether he needed them or not. Drug manufacturers can reject compassionate use applications. But a company that wants special treatment from a president as transactional as ours might have non-medical reasons to say yes.

OK, thanks for the breakdown. But this story is salacious and I can’t get enough of it. Do you have anything else for me?

You bet! My Slate colleague Luke Winkie has written about this at length, and you can read his article here.

Tolga Akdogan

You’re done with the news. Here are some great reads, listens, and watches for your evening.

Endless Summer is coming to an end: Speaking of Luke, he went to what is sure to be one of the Beach Boys’ final concerts – or at least what’s left of it. Luke’s work tells the story of 85-year-old Mike Love, the last member of one of the most accomplished pop groups of the 20th century, while also reflecting on nostalgia, bitterness, legacy and mortality. I will remember it for a long time.

Britain has expelled its sixth prime minister in 10 years. Now our own Trump waits – and I don’t fear for long. Is Donald Trump sick? An explosive new scoop could provide our first real clue.

An Encounter with a Serial Killer: In 2021, Laura Creedle received a frightening phone call. His brother was in the hospital after an alleged psychotic break. Worse still, the hospital was preparing to entrust him to his fiancée. Except: his brother didn’t have a fiancée. Instead, he had a close encounter with a woman who years later would be linked to several murders. The full (and poignant) story is worth reading.

A great interview for your evening dog walk: Anna Konkle had a difficult childhood, which she is still sorting out. She channeled this into art by writing the evocative and hilarious teen comedy PEN15. She sat down with Death, Sex & Money host Anna Sale to discuss her life and work.

What do you think of this football tournament you keep talking about? Is this still relevant? I’m glad you’re as excited about the World Cup as we are. Portugal beat Uzbekistan today (highlights here), while the showpiece match of the day between England and Ghana kicked off at 4am Eastern. Tonight we also have Panama-Croatia at 7 p.m. and Congo-Colombia at 10 a.m.

That’s it for us. Thanks for reading and have a good evening.

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