JB·普里茨克最近看起来判若两人。这位伊利诺伊州民主党州长正考虑参加2028年总统竞选，他承认过去两年使用GLP-1药物辅助治疗糖尿病，减重80磅（约36公斤），从而承认了这一变化。
JB Pritzker is looking different these days. Illinois’s Democratic governor, who is considering a 2028 run for president, admitted as much when he acknowledged he lost 80 pounds after using a GLP-1 in the last two years to help treat his diabetes.
近几个月来，普里茨克的减重过程显而易见，以至于他感到有必要在一篇个人随笔和几次采访中对此作出回应。在这些面对面采访中，他解释说，促使他减重的是健康担忧——而非政治追求。
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.
但在政治观察家眼中，这一变化重燃了关于总统候选人如何在选民面前塑造形象的讨论，尤其是在真实性——或至少是真实的假象——比以往任何时候都更重要的时代。
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.
政治家们开始自拍视频，用非正式的播客节目取代电视演播室。他们减少化妆，穿着休闲服装，或将头发扎成马尾辫——所有这些都是为了显得不那么“包装”过度。
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.
对总统候选人而言，他们的自我呈现方式传递的信息超越了美学与虚荣。选民会据此判断候选人的健康状况与精力，尤其是在经历了一个将年龄与精神敏锐度推上前总统拜登叙事核心的政治周期之后。
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.
“选民确实在意候选人的外貌，”民主党策略师贾马尔·西蒙斯表示，但他同时指出，“在现代社会，我们过去对这方面的固有认知可能已不适用。”
“What people look like does matter to voters,” said Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons, even as he noted that “in the modern era, our old ways of thinking about it may be wrong.”
“选民在寻找不符合传统模式的候选人，”他说，“这在身体特征上或许同样适用。”
“People are looking for candidates that don’t fit the traditional mold,” he said.
不过，西蒙斯补充道，“无论外表如何，保持健康、拥有体力以及能在疯狂节奏下持续不间断工作的能力都是必不可少的。候选人必须身体健康到足以应对常人难以想象的工作强度。” 在上周接受《CBS早间新闻》采访时，普里兹克承认了外界关于他减重是为竞选总统做准备的议论。但他表示，他的动机是个人原因。
“That may also be true physically.”Still, Simmons added, “being healthy, having stamina and an ability to work nonstop at a frantic pace is required regardless of the aesthetics. Candidates have to be healthy enough to work at a pace that is unreal to most people.”In an interview with “CBS Mornings” last week, Pritzker acknowledged the chatter that his weight loss is directly tied to preparing for a presidential run.
“我一生都在努力减肥，”普里兹克说，“如今因为GLP-1类药物的出现我终于做到了，这对我来说真的是……意义重大。” 据Axios在2025年底报道，其他高调潜在候选人——包括参议员埃莉萨·斯洛特金（密歇根州民主党人）和明尼苏达州州长蒂姆·沃尔兹（民主党人，曾作为2024年大选副总统候选人参选）——近几个月也都瘦了身。而以年轻形象著称的前交通部长皮特·布蒂吉格则留起了胡须，他将此归因于卸任公职后的生活状态。
But he said his reasoning was personal. “I’ve been driven my whole life to lose weight,” Pritzker said. “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.”
加利福尼亚州州长加文·纽森（民主党人），另一位2028年潜在竞争者，长期以来因其仪表和精致形象为人熟知，他的盟友认为这是净加分项。
Other high-profile candidates — including Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), who ran as the vice presidential nominee in the 2024 presidential election — have slimmed down in recent months, Axios noted in late 2025.
“当人们投票选举地球上最强大国家的总统时，外貌确实很重要，”加里·索思表示，他曾在纽森首次竞选州长时担任顾问。他补充道，“审美因素在政治中确实发挥作用，无论对错。” 索思表示，选民在焦点小组讨论中曾提及外貌因素。这位民主党人还主张，特朗普是自威廉·霍华德·塔夫脱和格罗弗·克利夫兰两位前总统以来，首位“肥胖”的总统指挥官。
And former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who is known for his youthful appearance, has sported a beard, something he attributes to being out of public office. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), another 2028 contender, has long been known for his looks and polished appearance, something his allies say is a net positive. “Appearance does matter when people are voting for president of the most powerful nation on earth,” said Garry South, who served as an adviser to Newsom in his first gubernatorial campaign. He added that “aesthetics do play a role, rightly or wrongly, in politics.”
“在这两种情况下，那都已经是100多年前的事了，自从电视时代伊始的前总统艾森豪威尔以来，我们就没有过秃顶的总统，”他补充道。
Appearance is something voters have mentioned in focus groups, said South, a Democrat who argued that Trump is the first “obese” commander in chief since former Presidents William Howard Taft and Grover Cleveland.
与此同时，一些民主党人认为，纽森精心打理的形象可能会被对手用作讽刺他的漫画素材。一位策略师指出，2004年他与当时的妻子金伯利·吉尔福伊尔共同拍摄的《Harper's Bazaar》（哈珀时尚）写真，照片中两人舒展地躺在地毯上，标题醒目地标着“新肯尼迪家族”。
“In both cases that was more than 100 years ago [and] we haven’t had a bald president since [former President] Eisenhower at the dawn of the TV age,” he added. At the same time, some Democrats argue that Newsom’s well-coiffed image could be a caricature used against him.
“这绝对是将被用来攻击他的前五大素材之一，”一位策略师表示。“你完全可以预见，‘脱离群众、爱摆拍怪异大片、在‘法国洗衣房’高级餐厅用餐的漂亮花瓶’这类描述，会成为反对研究手册的一部分。”
One strategist pointed to the Harper’s Bazaar photo shoot he did with then-wife Kimberly Guilfoyle in 2004, where the couple sprawled on a rug, with a headline that blared “The New Kennedys.”“It’s definitely in the top five things that will be thrown against him,” one strategist said.
特朗普曾多次以普里兹克的体重为靶子，去年一度称他为“又大又胖的懒汉”。但与许多前任总统不同，特朗普从未坚持规律锻炼，且以爱吃快餐著称。前总统克林顿经常慢跑，出差时甚至在房间里放置跑步机。前总统小布什是狂热的跑步爱好者，而前总统奥巴马则每天早上去健身房锻炼。
“You can definitely see, ‘Out of touch, pretty boy who poses for weird photo shoots and dines at French Laundry’ as part of that oppo book.”Trump has frequently targeted Pritzker on his weight, at one point last year calling him a “big, fat slob.”But unlike many of his presidential predecessors, Trump has never embraced regular workouts and has been known to eat fast food. Former President Clinton jogged regularly and even had a treadmill in his room when he traveled.
米德尔伯里学院性别、性取向与女性主义研究系主任劳里·埃西格表示，外貌确实很重要，这种印象可以追溯到19世纪末，尤其是针对男性及其体魄。
Former President George W. Bush was an avid runner, and former President Obama hit the gym each morning.
“我认为确实如此。我认为唐纳德·特朗普是这一规则的例外，”埃西格说。“我们想要的是一个努力工作、对身体自律有追求的人。
Laurie Essig, the chair of gender, sexuality and feminist studies at Middlebury College, said appearance does matter and those impressions date back to the late 19th century, particularly with men and their bodies. “I think it does. I think Donald Trump is the exception to that rule,” Essig said.
“我们将肥胖与道德缺陷联系在一起，”她继续说道，同时对这种观点泼了冷水。“这些文化偏见根深蒂固、由来已久。”普里兹克本人表示他对此有自己的看法，并称他不同意仅凭候选人的外貌就应该成为评判标准的观点。
“What we want is someone who works hard and has an investment in bodily discipline. “We associate fat with moral failing,” she continued, while throwing cold water on those opinions. “These cultural biases are deep and longstanding,” Pritzker himself said he has his own views on the matter, and said he doesn’t agree that a candidate’s appearance alone should matter.
“我认为更重要的是一个人的品格，我一直坚信这一点，”他在接受《芝加哥太阳报》采访时说。“这就是为什么我从不理会那些说我超重的恶毒言论。”
“I think it’s more like the content of your character matters more, and I’ve always believed that,” he said in an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times. “And that’s why I haven’t listened to people who say nasty things about me being overweight.”