Trump’s Ozempic Story Sparks Debate Over Drug Pricing and Weight Loss
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A White House roundtable on rural health care took an unexpected turn on Friday, January 16, when former President Donald Trump launched into a detailed, and repeatedly emphasized, anecdote about a wealthy friend’s experience with weight-loss drugs, specifically Ozempic.The story, which has resurfaced from earlier mentions in May 2025, quickly went viral, igniting speculation about the friend’s identity and reigniting the debate over prescription drug costs.
“A friend of mine who is a very smart guy… he took the fat… I call it the fat drug,” Trump said. “It was Ozempic… I won’t tell you that.”
The former president described the friend as being unable to “walk across the street” and noted he was in London on business. He further elaborated that the friend, worth “hundreds of millions, billions of dollars,” pays $1,300 for the drug in New York but only $87 in London – a disparity Trump called “too much to bear.”
Questioning Effectiveness and Fueling Speculation
Beyond the price difference, Trump also questioned the drug’s effectiveness, stating, “After I told him that the drug does not work on him because I saw him recently and he’s actually fatter then ever, I said, ‘The drug is not working on you.'” According to Trump, the friend responded with a shrug, saying, “Thanks, you make me feel good,” prompting Trump to assert, “Well, I gotta be truthful. Always tell the truth.”
This isn’t the first time Trump has shared this story.In May 2025, while criticizing pharmaceutical companies, he referenced a “very rich, very neurotic, brilliant businessman” who paid $88 for the same “fat shot” in London compared to $1,300 in New York. “I said, ‘It’s not working,'” Trump quipped at the time, again highlighting the price discrepancy and mocking the man’s weight.
Trump Administration’s Drug Pricing Initiatives
Both instances of the story were linked to Trump’s broader efforts to lower prescription drug costs in the US. “Whoever is paying the lowest, we match it,” he stated during the January roundtable. In November 2025, the Trump administration announced a reduction in the price of Ozempic through TrumpRx, lowering it from $1,000-$1,350 per month to $350. Further reductions were promised for Medicare and Medicaid recipients ($245/month starting mid-2026) and for oral versions of the drug ($149/month).
“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 Reaction and Identity Guesses
Trump’s comments promptly sparked a flurry of online speculation regarding the identity of the unnamed friend. Users on social media platforms began suggesting names like Leon Black and Elon Musk, the latter of whom has publicly discussed using weight-loss drugs. Others posited that the friend might not exist at all.
One social media user wrote, “Oh, another one of Trump’s (nonexistent) friends, very powerful, very rich…. Tears in his eyes?”
Criticism also arose, with some accusing Trump of fat-shaming, regardless of the friend’s identity.”I feel bad for President Trump’s friend. Whoever he is,” one person commented online.
The incident underscores the ongoing debate surrounding drug pricing, the accessibility of weight-loss medications, and the complexities of healthcare affordability in the United States.
