Donald Trump has a long history of talking about people’s weight. As NBC News Through his array of shameless displays, Trump has insulted the character of everyone from Rosie O’Donnell to Kim Kardashian. He also recently He said his friend was “fatter than ever” after taking GLP-1. In other words, he can focus on weight. But in April 2026 he unexpectedly praised JD Vance for his fitness.
Trump praised the vice president during a speech at the White House. Trump seemed unable to find Vance in the crowd at first, saying he was looking for a “gentleman” but instead found a man he described as a “perfect-looking specimen” because Vance had “gotten a little thinner.”
Trump is currently at the “dementia level of calling obese people in public.” https://t.co/VFDQlS2o2V
-Jay Jordan (@jayjordan) April 1, 2026
Odd phrasing (“sample”?) aside, Trump’s comments on the surface seemed like good-hearted compliments that elicited gentle chuckles from the audience. However, medical experts say criticizing someone for losing weight can be just as bad as shaming their body for carrying too much weight.
What’s so terrible about publicly congratulating someone on losing weight? For example, some people become thin unintentionally due to serious illnesses or stressful life situations. Although some people have celebrated the weight loss associated with the disease, including Kardashian, who posted photos of herself in skimpy clothes on… X With the comment “I’ve got the flu with…” – it’s not a healthy practice.
How weight loss comments can affect self-worth
In 2017, the then chief executive of the National Eating Disorders Association, Claire Misko, spoke to self About the harm that can come from advertising someone’s weight loss, whether due to illness or another reason. “It really underscores how skewed our ideas and mindset around weight are in this culture — and this can be especially dangerous for people with eating disorders and disordered eating.” (By the way, Eating disorders in males are surprisingly common.)
The related concern revolves around the implication that less weight is better than more weight. As licensed social worker Lindsay Cobb explained Very good mind“When we praise weight loss, we reinforce weight stigma, which harms people of all body sizes by setting thinness as the ultimate goal.”
Psychologist Rachel Needle (trans Psychology Today) Receiving compliments after losing 100 pounds made her feel uncomfortable. “I don’t want my body to be the focus of everyone’s attention,” she said. “And when people say: ‘You look great now!’ – what does that mean? Have I ever looked bad?”
Trump’s words arguably imply that Vance has somehow “improved.” However he said Vance’s weight loss journey This is something the Vice President has spoken about publicly. In 2024, he was open about losing 30 pounds by skipping breakfast and exercising more. At the time he also denied using Ozempic to help him shed some extra pounds.
