‘Nice…gotta lose some weight’: Trump jokes after seeing his courtroom sketch

A courtroom portrait of former US President Donald Trump has led him on the path of self-assessment regarding his health. Trump was at the New York County Supreme Court on Thursday to watch testimonies meant to strengthen his defence in the ongoing fraud trial, along with his lawyers.

Inside the court chamber, the former US President saw a sketch of him by artists and quipped, “I gotta lose some weight”.

The sketch won Trump’s approval as well after he termed it “nice”, according to The Independent.

The sketch artists – Jane Rosenberg and Isabelle Brourman – were hired by news organisations to capture the no-photos trial.

Donald Trump, who is a Republican contender in the 2024 US Presidential Elections, was found to be in the obese range in 2019 during his presidency. He was put in the category after an examination at the time showed him weighing 243 pounds. Despite the results, his then-physician, Dr Sean Conley had said that Trump was in “very good health overall” and is expected to remain so “for the remainder of his presidency and beyond”.

The former US President is known for his love for fast food, and pride in not exercising. His health, precisely due to his weight, has been a subject for several years. In 2018, Dr Ronny L Jackson, the White House physician at the time, advised Trump to improve his diet by cutting back on hamburgers and incorporating salads, The New York Times (NYT) reported.

At the time, Trump showed enthusiasm about the diet and exercise plan, and said he would like to “lose 10 to 15 pounds”, NYT reported, quoting Jackson.

However, during the examination the very next year (in 2019), Trump hit the obese range.

Meanwhile, Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr, has also shown an interest in courtroom sketch artists’ work. According to news agency Reuters, he told Jane Rosenberg last month to make him “look sexy”.

Donald Trump is due to testify on Monday (December 11) for a second time in the fraud trial.