Chief Critic
White House communications director Steven Cheung called Lieu a “dumbass” in an X post, saying he “probably spent hours laughing to himself thinking that peddling this lie would be funny.”
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Key Background
The STAT News report found Ranganath Muniyappa, a senior clinician at the National Institutes of Health, made a request for the drug to treat a patient with refractory obesity, obstructive sleep apnea and pulmonary hypertension, the latter of which can be life-threatening. Trump has dealt with multiple visible health conditions in recent months, often being seen with bruising on his hands that he has attributed to frequent handshaking and daily aspirin use. The president has also been seen with swollen ankles and was diagnosed last year with chronic venous insufficiency, a condition common in people over 70. Trump weighed 238 pounds in his latest physical exam, marking a 14-pound increase from April 2025 that is nearly at the threshold of clinical obesity.
Further Reading
White House Aggressively Denies Trump Received Exclusive Weight Loss Drug Access (Forbes)
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Trump Diagnosed With Common Chronic Vein Disease—White House Insists He Is In ‘Excellent Health’ (Forbes)
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