Trump Under Fire for Mocking 'Extremely Obese' Friend, Critics Say He's 'Looking in the Mirror'

Donald Trump turned a White House speech about prescription drug prices into an extraordinary attack on an unnamed Wall Street friend, prompting critics to fire back that the president was 'looking in the mirror'.

The fresh backlash was triggered following Trump's story about an unnamed friend's weight during a dinner for Congressional Republicans at the White House on Wednesday, 2 September.

The Trump 'obese friend' rant came as he was discussing his administration's push to lower prescription drug prices. But the policy pitch suddenly veered into a deeply personal account of a man Trump described as 'extremely obese'.

'I said, you're an extremely obese person,' Trump recalled, before delivering an even harsher assessment: 'It's not working. You look like shit.'

The comments quickly became one of the most bizarre moments, particularly because Trump claimed the unnamed man had repeatedly begged him not to reveal his identity.

Trump Reveals Clues About His Friend

Trump said the man is from New York and described him as a Wall Street figure and one of the 'top guys on Wall Street'.

He called the friend 'brutal', 'vicious', and 'wild', while also praising him as highly intelligent. Trump said the man feared being identified because, in Trump's words, he would 'destroy his reputation'.

Trump also offered a curious glimpse into their relationship. He said the man once called him 'Donny' but now calls him 'president', which Trump interpreted as a sign of respect. Those details provide a handful of clues, but they do not establish the man's identity. Trump did not name him, and there is no verified evidence identifying him.

The $86 Versus $1,300 Drug Bill

The bizarre anecdote was tied directly to Trump's broader argument about prescription drug prices. Trump said his friend told him he had paid $86 for Ozempic in London but $1,300 in New York for what Trump described as the same drug. Trump said he had checked and believed both came from the same factory.

That eye-catching price comparison was supposed to illustrate Trump's argument that Americans have been paying far more for medicines than people in other countries. Instead, the president quickly shifted from the cost of the medication to his friend's weight.

Trump said he asked whether the man was taking other 'fat drugs'. When the friend said yes, Trump claimed he told him, 'It's not working. You look like shit.'

The result was an unusual collision of presidential policy messaging and a very public discussion of an unnamed person's weight and medication.

Critics Turn the Insult Back

The Trump obese friend controversy quickly generated mockery online. Liberal commentator Vince Wilson delivered one of the sharpest responses, writing: 'Trump is talking about himself. Piggy was looking in the mirror.' That line became a particularly potent counterpunch because it flipped Trump's insult back towards the president himself.

Reporter Aaron Rupar also focused on Trump's behaviour, writing that he continued to believe the fact that the president was 'a lunatic' was the biggest story in politics.

Meidas Touch, meanwhile, mocked the apparent disconnect between the president's political agenda and the bizarre anecdote, posting: 'Checking in on Trump's midterm messaging.'

The Mystery Remains Unsolved

The identity of Trump's 'extremely obese' friend remains unknown. Social media users have speculated about who Trump might have meant, but speculation is not evidence, and the president has not publicly identified the man.

That distinction is particularly important because Trump disclosed several personal details while deliberately withholding the man's name. He described his weight, discussed his alleged use of weight-loss medication, and revealed details about his prescription costs.

Yet the name remained off limits. The episode is also not entirely new. Trump has previously used a similar unnamed friend as an example while discussing the cost of weight-loss drugs, including remarks in June about a 'very brilliant' businessman who paid far more in New York than in London.

That makes Wednesday's comments less like a one-off aside and more like a recurring anecdote Trump has used to make his drug-pricing argument.

For now, the mystery remains intact. Trump has given the public plenty of clues about his 'extremely obese' Wall Street friend, but not the one detail that would settle the speculation: his name.