Pritzker says he’s lost 80 pounds on GLP-1: ‘I’ve been driven my whole life to lose weight’

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) said in a new interview that he has dropped 80 pounds using a GLP-1 drug.

“I have been driven my whole life to lose weight,” Pritzker said in an interview that aired Monday on “CBS Mornings.”

“The fact that I am now able to do it because this GLP-1 became available is truly, like, I mean, it’s something that has meant a lot to me,” he added.

Medicines including semaglutide , tirzepatide and dulaglutide, which are commercially marketed as Ozempic, Mounjaro and Trulicity respectively, are GLP-1 drugs. They function by mimicking a hormone made by the human body that stimulates insulin secretion and reduces appetite.

A survey from Gallup in July found a record number of Americans taking GLP-1 drugs for weight loss. In the poll, 11 percent of Americans were using a GLP-1 medication to lose weight, an 8-point jump from 2024.

President Trump, who has faced comments about his own weight, has a history of scrutinizing the Illinois governor’s body.

In late August 2025, Pritzker said personal attacks from the president “are just evidence of a guy who’s still living in fifth grade,” following Trump criticizing the governor’s appearance.

“It takes one to know one, on the weight question,” Pritzker said at the time. “And the president, of course, himself, is not in good shape. So, he ought to respond to that from me.”

The president has previously said that the Illinois governor “ought to spend more time in the gym, actually” and accused Pritzker of being “too busy eating” to lead his state.