Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, whose weight has repeatedly been targeted by Donald Trump, has revealed that he is taking a GLP-1 medication.
Pritzker, 61, announced that he was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes two years ago and began taking a GLP-1 to treat it, which has led to an 80-pound weight loss.
The Democratic governor told CBS News in an interview that aired Monday that he feels “a whole lot different, and a whole lot better” after he started taking the hormone regulator.
“I have an opportunity, just with the platform I have as governor, to tell people that this is something that can work for them,” he said. “I think they should do it with a doctor’s advice. But I can tell you, at least for me, it has been really life-changing.”
Pritzker began taking the medication after doctors warned him that he would need to take insulin for the rest of his life. In the interview, he said he has been overweight since he was a child.
Pritzker’s weight has been jabbed at by Trump in several personal attacks on the governor.
During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump said Pritzker “wants to eat all the time” and that he was “too busy eating” to lead his state.
Last November, the president called Pritzker a “big, fat slob” during the White House turkey pardoning ceremony.
“I’ve been driven my whole life to lose weight,” Pritzker continued to CBS News. “The fact that I am now able to do it because this GLP-1 became available is truly — I mean, it’s something that has meant a lot to me.”
The governor said one of the reasons he decided to take initiative about his fitness was because his father, Donald Pritzker, died of a heart attack while playing tennis at age 39.
“I’ve always kept an eye on my health because of that history,” said Pritzker, who now walks four miles along Lake Michigan almost every morning. “Now, I’m walking every day and taking a GLP-1 so I can be around for my family. My health journey isn’t over, but sharing this might help others.”
Pritzker said that he lost two pounds in the first week on the medication, and that “it was the strangest feeling” to not have constant food cravings.
“I’m not suggesting everything changed in a week. It didn’t happen that way,” he said.
The billionaire Hyatt hotel heir is seeking a third term as governor and is widely considered to be a potential contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination. He did not directly answer a question about whether the prospect of a presidential campaign factored into his decision to lose weight.
