Former Biggest Loser star Jillian Michaels made a surprise appearance in the White House press briefing room, filling the administration’s new media seat.
The celebrity fitness guru, in her debut as a political correspondent, had the chance to ask Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt the first question on Thursday.
Michaels lobbed a softball. She inquired about the administration’s freshly-released MAHA report, which details the perils of processed foods and environmental toxins.
“As a MAHA mom yourself, how do you interpret the significance of this report in terms of delivering measurable health improvements for Americans and their kids, and what specific actions does the administration plan to take in response to it?” asked Michaels, looking down several times to read the prepared question.
The long-winded question yielded a long-winded response from Leavitt, who eventually concluded, “unfortunately, we have a health crisis that’s been plaguing us for too long, and this report speaks to the heart of it.”
Michaels, 51, is at the White House for a press conference addressing the MAHA report later on Thursday, Leavitt said in introducing the TV personal trainer.
The press secretary was evidently starstruck by Michaels’ visit.
“She’s a renowned personal health expert. I know all of you know her. I certainly do from watching her fitness videos growing up,” Leavitt, 27, flashing a smile, admitted in the introduction.
Michaels broke out as a personal trainer on NBC’s The Biggest Loser, appearing on 12 seasons of the show before departing for good in 2014. She developed a reputation for doling out tough love while helping contestants shed hundreds of pounds in just a few months.
More recently, Michaels has become an proponent of both the MAGA and MAHA movements.
A day before the 2024 election, Michaels revealed that she had voted for Donald Trump, although she emphasized that she was not endorsing him.
Whatever skepticism she had about Trump has seemed to fade since he’s stepped into the Oval Office. Michaels had nothing but praise for the president’s constant succession of outrageous moves in a February appearance on Fox News.
“He’s incredible,” she said. “I honestly don’t know how he’s doing it.”
Michaels has been just as effusive in her support for Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
She offered an unequivocal endorsement for the health secretary’s controversial push to search for causes of autism other than genetics in an April interview with NewsMax.
“It’s crazy that not everyone is elated about the fact that he’s trying to get to the bottom of this,” she said. ”I for one am very happy with what he’s been doing.”
The White House introduced the new media seat—which is near the front of the briefing room—as part of its push to bring nontraditional media outlets into the presidential press corps. The seat has often been filled by reporters from outlets with a pro-Trump spin.
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