Investigating claim Trump got exclusive access to potent obesity drug retatrutide

In late June 2026, a rumor spread that U.S. President Donald Trump had gained early and exclusive access to the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly's retatrutide — a coveted obesity drug that is reportedly so potent some are acquiring it through illegal means. 

The drug is still in the experimental stage in the U.S., and the Food and Drug Administration has yet to approve it.

Several posts on social media relayed the claim, saying while Eli Lilly never named Trump as the patient that received the drug before everyone else, the president fit the profile (archived):

The claim stemmed from a June 23, 2026, STAT News story, which reported one 79-year-old man requested the drug in April and received it through the FDA's "compassionate use" program. The article said that the request was so unusual it could point to Trump, who was 79 in April and who received a monoclonal antibody cocktail to treat COVID-19 through the same FDA program.

As of this writing, it was still not confirmed that the patient who received early access to retatrutide was Trump. For this reason, we have left the claim unrated. 

We reached out to the STAT News reporter who wrote the story, who outlined several factors that led her to wonder if Trump was the 79-year-old man who received it, though she underscored she did not know this for sure.

White House spokesperson Kush Desai denied that the patient was Trump, first on X (archived) in response to the STAT News report and then in an email exchange with Snopes. 

What is retatrutide?

Retatrutide belongs to a class of drugs to treat obesity that originated in research for diabetes treatments. This generation of drugs, better known under brand names such as Wegovy, Zepbound or Ozempic, work by imitating the hormone (GLP-1) that conveys satiety (the feeling of being full) and helps regulate blood glucose levels. Some versions of the these drugs act on two types of hormone receptors. For example, Eli Lilly's Zepbound (tirzepatide) also acts on receptors for the GIP hormone, which stimulates insulin to control glucose.

Retatrutide mimics three separate hormones: GLP-1, GIP and also glucagon, a hormone secreted in the pancreas that helps to maintain blood glucose at a safe level. The molecule that blocks glucagon receptors in retatrutide forces the body to use fat for energy, accelerating fat loss. This makes the drug reportedly more powerful than the first generation of obesity drugs that act on GLP-1 receptors.

"Reta," as it is frequently referred to on social media, is in a Phase 3 trial, Eli Lilly said — meaning it is currently being tested on a large cohort to confirm its safety and efficacy. Phase 3 trials can sometimes take years, and this trial was set to end in 2028. 

While Retatrutide still awaited FDA approval, it was so anticipated that some reportedly sought to acquire it on the black market, exposing themselves to counterfeit and unsafe versions of it. 

Did Trump gain access to 'reta'?

The STAT News article said one individual of 79 years had gained early access to the drug outside of the ongoing clinical trial, adding that the man received the drug under the FDA's "compassionate use" program. However, experts the article's reporter, Lizzy Lawrence, cited said it was odd that only one individual would receive this drug under this program. "Often, drugmakers will establish compassionate use programs for large cohorts of patients," the story said. 

In a text exchange with Snopes, Lawrence said that, besides the patient's age, three factors led her to wonder if this individual may have been Trump: 

• The unusual nature of the application (high level officials were involved, typically compassionate use applications are quite standard and handled by low-level employees);
• clinicians and ethical experts found the Eli Lilly listing of the program bizarre because there was very little info and also they offered it on a single patient basis when obesity is such a widespread disease;
• Trump has used this pathway before during Covid.

It is true that Trump used a "compassionate use" program in 2020 to access Regeneron's monoclonal antibody cocktail to treat a bout of COVID-19.

"But I want to be clear that I don't know who the patient is!," Lawrence said. "I just thought it was worth asking the question."

Meanwhile, Desai responded to the suggestion on X. "Because this has to be spelled out for @LizzyLaw_, who has proven herself to be an unserious gossip columnist, this application was not for the President," he said.

In an email to Snopes, Desai said there were other powerful 79-year-olds who could get exclusive access the drug, without naming anyone specific. 

Trump, who turned 80 on June 14, reportedly told the New York Times in January 2026 that he "probably should" take obesity drugs but had not.

For further reading, Snopes debunked a claim that Trump had not appeared in public for a week in May because he'd had a stroke.