The last thing JB Pritzker expected was to be answering 2028 presidential run questions over something this personal, but here we are

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has visibly lost weight recently, but he is making it clear that his health journey has nothing to do with any plans for a 2028 presidential run. He wants people to stop reading political meaning into something he says is purely personal.

When Pritzker spoke with journalist Astead Herndon, the conversation turned to his weight loss. Pritzker pushed back on the idea that there were political motivations behind it, saying he has “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 of 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.”

According to Mediaite, the discussion also touched on whether he was using GLP-1 shots for weight loss. Pritzker called it a “hyper personal question” for anyone, and has previously said such questions are “kind of none of anybody’s business,” particularly since people may be using these drugs for serious conditions like diabetes.

A presidential run in 2028 is still on the table, despite Pritzker’s focus on Illinois

The presidential speculation is not entirely without basis. Back in August, Pritzker told an interviewer he was not ruling out a 2028 run, saying, “I can’t rule anything out, 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.”

Pritzker’s weight has been a target of political attacks before. President Trump called him a “big, fat slob” during a Thanksgiving turkey pardoning ceremony last year. Pritzker has also faced tough moments in the media, including when Bret Baier challenged Pritzker on Chicago crime data, cutting off his deflection with hard numbers.

More recently, the official GOP social media page posted a Valentine’s Day message targeting Pritzker’s weight. The post, which was later deleted, showed Pritzker eating junk food like pizza and cheeseburgers, with the line, “My love for you is bigger than JB Pritzker.” Not everyone in the Republican Party supported that kind of attack. Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey publicly condemned the post on X.

Bailey, who has also dealt with weight issues, wrote, “As someone who has personally struggled with my weight, I can tell you this kind of rhetoric isn’t helpful. It doesn’t solve problems, it just creates more division. We can and should have real debates about policy, priorities, and the future of our state. But attacking someone over their weight is unnecessary, unproductive, and has no place in our politics.”

Bailey’s post got a mixed reaction. Some people praised him for speaking out, while others continued to mock Pritzker’s weight and seemed unhappy with Bailey’s stance. The broader Republican party has seen its own internal tensions lately, such as Trump calling a GOP governor a RINO, showing that divisions within the party run deep.