Speaking at a White House Easter lunch, President Donald Trump made an uncomfortable joke about Vice President JD Vance's weight loss, taking an opportunity to mock him from the podium.
Vance said in August 2024 that he had lost nearly 30 pounds since his 2022 Ohio Senate campaign, attributing the change to diet and exercise rather than the use of weight-loss medications. His weight loss attracted attention this week after he appeared on conservative influencer Benny Johnson's podcast.
Trump also decided to comment on it, scanning the room to look for Vance and saying:
“I think JD, is JD here? Where is JD? Oh, JD! He’s lost weight, he got a little thinner. I’m looking for a heavy-set gentleman and now I find a perfect-looking specimen.”
You can hear what he said in the video below.
It was weird to hear this considering Trump—who appears to blurt out anything on his mind these days—has long had problems with his own weight.
Despite this, Trump has nonetheless declared himself a "perfect physical specimen" and boasted about his physical prowess, once noting that his own White House physician had declared him "healthier than Obama"—despite Trump's distaste for exercise and fondness for fast food.
Trump has also been vocal about his aversion to exercise. In a New York Times Magazine profile, Trump expressed skepticism about the benefits of exercise, saying that people who work out regularly are often at risk of injuries and health issues.
Additionally, he has a well-documented love for McDonald's that has continued to spark conversations about the true state of his physical health. As recently as February, he served McDonald's to the U.S. men's hockey team during their visit to the White House after Trump delivered his State of the Union address.
Nobody's laughing.
We suspect Trump might just be projecting. He's an expert at that.
