Donald Trump took a moment from discussing his much-hyped plans to lower medication costs for Americans to talk about how much his “neurotic” friend spent to take “the fat shot.”
In his usual rambling style, the president veered off during a White House press conference Monday to share an anecdote about one of his “seriously overweight” associates complaining about how expensive weight loss drugs are in the U.S.
“I’ll tell you a story. A friend of mine—he’s a businessman, very, very, very top guy. Most of you would’ve heard of him. Highly neurotic, brilliant businessman, seriously overweight, and he takes the fat shot drug,” Trump said, adding that the unnamed businessman recently called him with a question.
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“‘I’m in London. And I just paid for this damn fat drug I take.’ I said, ‘It’s not working,’” Trump added, drawing some laughter from the room. “‘I just paid $88. And in New York I pay $1,300. What the hell is going on?’”
Trump’s off-script remarks came as he signed an executive order aimed at lowering prescription drug prices in the U.S.
He had teased the announcement in a Sunday Truth Social post, saying his plan to “almost immediately” cut drug prices by 30 percent to 80 percent would be one of the “most consequential” executive orders in the country’s history.
While Trump didn’t name his friend or the weight loss drug he uses, some of the most popular ones are significantly more expensive in the U.S. than in Europe.
In September 2024, senators including Vermont’s Bernie Sanders grilled the CEO of Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic and Wegovy, on why a monthly prescription of Wegovy costs $1,349 in the U.S., compared to about $92 in the U.K. and $140 in Germany.
There’s a similar price gap for Ozempic between Europe and the U.S., according to Fortune.
During his Monday press conference, Trump added his friend was “stunned” by the “crazy situation” with U.S. drug pricing.
“And I brought it up with the drug companies, represented by somebody who’s very, very smart, good person too. And we argued about it for about half an hour,” Trump said, again without offering specifics. “And finally, he just said—because they can’t justify it—he just said, ‘Look, you got me.’”
