Donald Trump has outed White House communications chief and resident attack dog Steven Cheung as a user of “fat drugs.”
Announcing plans to slim down the cost of popular weight loss drugs, the president began naming his Cabinet members and aides, asking if they needed such medication.
“You taking any of this stuff, Howard?” he asked Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
“Not yet,” Lutnick replied.
“CMS administrator Mehmet Oz, he doesn’t take it,” Trump said.
“Where’s Steve?” the president then asked. “Head of public relations for the White House. He’s taking it.”
Steven Cheung is a former spokesperson for the UFC, who joined Trump’s 2016 campaign and served as his director of strategic response.
He is now the White House communications director, working alongside Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, and is known for his combative style and profanity-laced responses to media inquiries.
“You must be truly f--king stupid if you think we’re not transparent,” he said recently, when asked by Huffington Post reporter S.V Date why many of the president’s remarks were not posted as transcripts.
Asked if he cared to comment on Thursday, Cheung told the Daily Beast: “It’s important to encourage others to explore options to address health concerns by speaking openly and honestly about it.”
Trump’s unexpected outing of his 43-year-old aide’s weight loss attempts came as he announced a deal on Thursday that could significantly expand access to hugely popular obesity drugs by reducing the price to as little as $150 a month.
Trump has long fixated on GLP-1 medications, often expressing frustration about the high cost of what he has dubbed the “fat drug” in the U.S.
But the president’s own health has also been in the spotlight lately, from his recent chronic venous insufficiency diagnoses (which has caused his swollen ankles) and frequent hand bruising, to his revelation that he recently had an MRI scan.
In terms of his own weight, an official medical report released by the White House after his first medical examination in April recorded him at 224 pounds, although some observers have questioned this.
Trump’s most recent check up took place last month, but the latest report from White House doctor Sean Barbabella did not record his weight.
In the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump announced concessions from Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk that will lower the price of the companies’ weight-loss drugs for some patients who are covered by Medicare and Medicaid.
“It’s a triumph for American patients that will save lives and improve the health of millions and millions of Americans,” he said, flanked by pharmaceutical executives and Cabinet members.
Under the administration’s plan, drug makers Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk would sell their medications to Medicare for $149 per month for the lowest dose and $245 per month for larger doses.
The drugs would also be will be offered at discounted rates through through a new administration website TrumpRx.gov, which is expected to go live next year.
Consumers would then be able to purchase the drugs directly in cash for an average of $350 or less per month - less than the current rate of about $500 per month.
