Rapidly downsizing Democrat JB Pritzker’s weight loss has stirred talk about surface looks
The recent controversy surrounding actress Sydney Sweeney taking criticism for bearing it all to promote a sports betting site she partially owns – and drawing intense hatred from judgmental feminists everywhere in the process – reminded us, once again, that appearances matter in American culture.
It’s basic common sense, really. If one is outwardly attractive, news consumers are more likely to lend their oh-so-fickle attention spans to whatever she or he is peddling. It’s a lesson taught and learned over and over again by clothing producers, makeup companies and hair care product makers, all of which dump millions into research and development as well as assembling marketing pros and supermodels to don their wares for offer to the general public.
Is politics immune?
Not necessarily. Rush Limbaugh used to advise, “Politics is show business for ugly people”, a truth that’s certainly been validated time and again when superficially homely individuals ran for – and won – elected office based on the strength of better policies, naked pandering to the electorate… or due to blind and desensitized voters.
For a long time, however, being hefty or overweight was considered a proverbial dividing line a politician dare not cross. Voters can tolerate average looking candidates, but fat ones?
Illinois governor and potential 2028 Democrat presidential hopeful JB Pritzker seems bent on testing that hypothesis, though Pritzker has turned heads of late because the formerly rotund leftist pol has trimmed down considerably, perhaps scheming to make himself “look” more the part to Americans at large.
Pardon the pun.
Will Pritzker’s girth-reduction actions result in popularity treasure? In an article titled, “Pritzker’s weight loss prompts discussion on changing attitudes over presidential appearance”, Amie Parnes reported at The Hill last week:
“Pritzker’s weight loss journey has been so apparent in recent months that the governor felt the need to address it in a personal essay and in a couple of interviews. In those sit-downs, he explained that it was health concerns — not his political pursuits — that prompted the effort. But among political observers, the change renewed a discussion on how presidential candidates present themselves to voters, particularly in an era when authenticity — or at least the appearance of it — matters more than ever.
“Politicians are shooting their own videos and swapping television studios for less formal podcasts. They’re wearing less makeup, dressing in casual clothes or sporting hair pulled back in a ponytail — all as part of an effort to appear less packaged.
“For presidential candidates, the way they present themselves can convey something beyond aesthetics and vanity. Voters can make judgments about a candidate’s health and vitality, particularly after a political cycle when age and mental acuity became such a big part of the narrative around former President Biden.”
Yes, looks and presentation do matter in politics, very much. But in senile Joe Biden’s particular example, the Delawarean made a spectacle of himself by repeatedly emphasizing how fit and virile he was. Do you recall how the oldest ever president used to show himself trotting into political appearances and rallies, like “Hey, I’m not an old goat, I can jog/shuffle the fifty or so feet to the stage and not even fall down before I get there.”
The joke was on senile Joe the whole time. The cruel/sad part about the sorry choreography was that no one let him in on the gag before it was too late.
Democrats routinely lie to themselves about this public image. Appearances do matter, and Biden’s wherewithal was a persistent topic of ridicule no matter where he went. The fact First Lady Jill Biden closely monitored his every motion only further highlighted how feeble and physically hindered he was.
Donald Trump’s aesthetic bona fides have also come under regular scrutiny, mostly for his coiffured hair style and orange spray tan, so much so that Republicans coined the term, “Orange Man Bad” to describe Democrats who sought any unsavory means to discredit the most effective politician in a generation.
For his part, Trump never denied that outward appearance should count in personal assessment of leaders. Trump always dressed for every occasion and practically never was seen wearing anything to events but a coat and tie. I’ve often wondered how Trump could remain so put-together at outdoor rallies where temperatures hovered around a hundred degrees.
Perhaps he has ice in his veins. It wouldn’t be me, that’s for sure.
But Pritzker’s rapid weight loss has invited inspection partly because his well-earned reputation as an obnoxious fat slob preceded him in the public’s eye. Pritzker is a stereotypical legacy wealthy liberal snob who made a name for himself by savaging Trump and the people who like him. Working class Americans took to Trump when they viewed him as “one of them” because of the New Yorker’s uncanny talent for relating to the common man.
That’s not JB Pritzker, though. The pampered elitist seems much more at home among conceited limousine liberals and radicals than he would be with farmers or tradesman. You’d hardly know it, but Illinois is one of the leading agriculture producing states in the country, but can anyone picture JB Pritzker sitting on a combine?
In the 2024 campaign, Donald Trump donned a vest for a stint on a trash truck and passed for a very experienced McDonald’s line employee by flipping French fries at a campaign stop. If JB Pritzker tried such a thing, the governor probably would’ve consumed the product and chided the management for not paying their employees a living wage.
Trump has never hidden the fact he enjoys “regular” food and tales of White House staffers being sent out to obtain his Big Macs, Filet-o-Fish and Diet Cokes are legendary. Democrats suggest Trump is “obese”, but the president’s waistline was never in the same league as Pritzker’s. Pre-meds, JB was so fat his belly had its own time zone.
Pritzker insists that his “fat shot” induced weight loss was not motivated by his political ambitions, but common-sense folks don’t buy his “I did it for my health” rationalizations. Other stout politicians have waged a very public battle with weight, former New Jersey governor and two-time Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie among them.
Then there’s former Arkansas governor and Republican candidate Mike Huckabee, himself having struggled with plus-sized attire for decades. Huckabee’s daughter, current Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, has also reduced noticeably. Did she do it for politics?
As Parnes’ article pointed out, other potential 2028 presidential candidates have altered their appearances well ahead of the impending primary campaign season. Boyish Democrat Pete Buttigieg has grown a beard, perhaps in a yearning to seem older and more authoritative. Being homosexual and pasty white could have its disadvantages in the general election, but the Democrat primaries?
Of course, JD Vance, widely viewed as the frontrunner to succeed President Trump as the leader of the Republican Party, has a beard. So does Senator Ted Cruz, though here’s wondering if the Texan would shave if he decided to run for president again. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, another possible Republican candidate, has always had youthful overtones.
But there’s little doubt that JB Pritzker felt like he had to do something to alter his personal veneer if he were to maintain any prayer of running for president. The Illinois governor is Jewish, in addition, so carrying extra weight and a religion that’s become increasingly unwelcome in the Democrat Party might have been more than he could explain away to the socialist/communist “From the River to the Sea” insurgents during the campaign.
By the same token, attractive looks-only Latina Alexandria Ocasio Cortez likely hopes to ride her objectively favorable aesthetics to contention in the ’28 Democrat primaries. AOC adds good relations with the emerging ultra-leftist Bernie Sanders wing to her repertoire, and although she’s not recognized for a burgeoning intellect, such considerations don’t matter to Democrats!
So, the real question for Democrats remains, does (belt) size actually matter? Pritzker says he doesn’t think so, but the timing of his stepped-up weight reduction will engender questions throughout the coming campaign, should he toss his now-medium-sized hat into the ring.
Glancing at the expanded picture, it’s JB Pritzker’s off-putting, nails-on-a-chalkboard personality that represents his biggest obstacle to national political success. JB is brash and bombastic, and not in a Trump-ian kind of good way. Pomposity and puffed-up arrogance isn’t a selling point, something most Democrats have yet to grasp.
Jeff Rendall is editor and publisher of GolfintheUSA.com and has written about golf and politics for over a quarter of a century. A non-practicing attorney from California, he moved to the east coast three decades ago to pursue and combine his interests in all things American history and culture. Jeff has worked as an intern on Capitol Hill and in various capacities in grassroots organizing and conservative organizations and publications, including a nearly two-decade stint at ConservativeHQ.com. Column republishing or other inquiries: Rendall@msn.com .