Reporter Asks JB Pritzker if He Decided to Lose Weight Because He Might Run for President

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker (D) may be looking slimmer these days, but he wants you to know it’s not tied to a future run for the White House.

Pretzker joined Vox’s Astead Herndon this week, where he was asked about his recent weight loss and whether it could be tied to 2028 ambitions.

“What went into your decision to focus on your health? What are you doing to cause the change that folks are seeing?” Herndon asked.

Pretzker denied any such motivation and dismissed talk about it.

“I don’t know about other people. I’ve been challenged with my weight for, you know, most of my life so the idea — and I have succeeded and failed, I mean, like a lot people, you lose weight, you gain weight over the course of your life. I realize that other people want to make this about something that it’s not,” the governor said.

Asked if he was taking GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) shots to lose weight, Pritzker argued it’s a “hyper personal question” for anyone.

Pritzker said in August in a Meet the Press interview that he is not ruling out a 2028 run for president.

“I can’t rule anything out,” the governor said, “but what I can rule in is that no matter what decision I make, and I mean in particular about what I do in the state of Illinois, is about the people of Illinois. Indeed, any future decision of mine will always be guided by that.”

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