Pritzker opens up about weight loss aided by GLP-1 drug

Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL) spoke for the first time on his weight-loss journey, revealing he has consistently used a GLP-1 drug to help him lose 80 pounds.The public admission comes as the Illinois Democrat weighs a potential 2028 presidential campaign. In the meantime, he is seeking a third term as governor.Pritzker reflected on his personal health in a few interviews on Monday, disclosing that he began losing weight seriously sometime in 2024. “I honestly didn’t think about the fact that just two years ago at the Democratic convention, that I was 80 pounds heavier,” he told the Chicago Sun Times. “I didn’t notice that except that now I’ve seen pictures or video of myself, and now that I’ve had some success, I look in the mirror and I think about the videos and I think, ‘Wow, that’s quite a difference.’ And I guess other people see it, which is nice.”Pritzker said he has always struggled with his weight, which he partly attributes to “bad genes.” His father, Donald Pritzker, died of a sudden heart attack at age 39 in 1972. JB Pritzker was 7 years old at the time.“There are people who have it very easy their whole lives, and they’ve never struggled at all,” he said. “I’m just not that person.”President Donald Trump has frequently mocked Pritzker’s weight in social media posts, calling the governor a “fat slob” in the past.“I think that it’s funny to me now that the president still calls me a fat slob … and I wasn’t before, by the way. But I’ve been overweight. Oh, by the way, he’s overweight,” Pritzker said. “But I don’t really talk about that publicly … and it’s because I think it’s more like the content of your character that matters more, and I’ve always believed that. And that’s why I haven’t listened to people who say nasty things about me being overweight.”Pritzker, 61, started taking a GLP-1 medication and insulin to help regulate his blood sugar after he was diagnosed with pre-diabetes, and then Type II diabetes when he was 58. He stopped taking insulin nine months ago.Apart from the weight loss drug, Pritzker regularly walks several miles along Lake Michigan in the mornings for his health. The politician also keeps track of his diet, but he noted that his past diet regimens did not lead to long-term weight loss until he started taking a GLP-1 medication every week for the past two years.Now, in an interview with CBS Mornings, he says he’s feeling “a whole lot different and a whole lot better.”Pritzker remained coy on whether he will run for president in two years, saying he is focused on Illinois for now.HOW DO THE 2028 DEMOCRATS STACK UP ON AI?“I’ve been driven my whole life to lose weight,” Pritzker said in response to a question tying his weight loss announcement to his presidential ambitions. “The fact that I’m now able to do it because this GLP-1 became available is truly … it’s something that has meant a lot to me.”“I have not made any decisions about what I might do in the future,” he added. “I can tell you I want to be the governor of the state of Illinois for a while longer.”