Recently in the United States, a health-focused media investigation fed the following rumor: President Donald Trump would be secretly using a powerful experimental obesity drug. In the face of media frenzy, the White House quickly denied the claim.
The origin of this wild rumor
On June 23, 2026, the health-focused STAT News published an investigation that fueled a major rumor about the American president Donald Trump. The plot concerns early access to “retatrutide” for a single individual, arranged by the Eli Lilly laboratory and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) through the Compassionate Use program. It concerns a next-generation obesity treatment, still in clinical trials.
It should be noted that this is a rather unusual procedure. Indeed, more than a dozen bioethics experts have highlighted that granting such a compassionate exception to a single patient is extremely rare, especially for a common condition like obesity. These experts also suggested that the mystery patient is “well connected.” Thus, the patient’s profile was linked to that of the president. The access request was filed in April 2026, for a man aged 79. And this age matched precisely Donald Trump’s age before turning 80, in mid-June 2026.
The administration struck at journalists and “speculators”
As explained by Forbes in an article also published on June 23, 2026, the Trump administration reacted virulently to media pressure and questions from numerous journalists. On the social network X, White House Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai stated that the treatment request did not concern the president. However, the communications teams targeted journalists and people speculating about the affair, branding them as “gossip-mongers” and “disturbed.” The authorities also referenced Donald Trump’s latest medical report, which was released in May 2026. This report noted a weight of about 108 kg but did not mention any serious pathology such as pulmonary hypertension, which had been associated with the mystery patient’s request.
The reaction of the U.S. administration did not stop the agitation on the Democratic side. Several lawmakers — notably Senator Maggie Hassan — demanded written clarifications from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The goal of this request was to understand whether political pressure existed to offer free and exclusive access to this FDA-unapproved treatment. Also cited was Ted Lieu, a Democratic congressman representing California in the U.S. House of Representatives. He suggested that the recent cancellation of an official event by Donald Trump could be the result of side effects from the famous drug.
What should you know about this new treatment?
Concretely, the “retatrutide” is a next-generation experimental molecule that the Eli Lilly laboratory presents as a major breakthrough in treating obesity but also type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The drug simultaneously mimics three intestinal and metabolic hormones, making it a triple agonist. By comparison, current treatments target one or two hormones.
The three hormones involved are Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), Glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP), and Glucagon. The former ensures a slowdown of gastric emptying and sends a powerful satiety signal to the brain. The latter improves insulin secretion and optimizes fat breakdown. Finally, Glucagon increases the body’s energy expenditure — a fat burner — and accelerates the elimination of fats stored in the liver.
If the data from the global TRIUMPH program demonstrate superior efficacy of retatrutide compared to all molecules already on the market, the drug remains in the clinical investigation phase. The official filing of the dossier with the FDA should arrive soon, potentially opening the way to commercialization in 2027.
