Strategist notes evidence Trump admin is in 'transition' amid presidential health issues

Trump has been elevating the role of Vice President JD Vance for a clear reason, according to a political strategist.

During a recent podcast episode for The Contrarian, Simon Rosenberg pointed out that recent revelations about Trump's health and Vance's new responsibilities correlate to a plan to prepare the vice president for a transition.

"Let's just be clear that another example of them potentially preparing for a transition is how much they've elevated Vance in recent weeks," Rosenberg said. "Which is sort of giving him a tryout of the world stage as a symbol of the fact that we could be in the beginning, or they're trying to hedge."

Vance was in Switzerland last week to negotiate with Iran on a peace deal. Co-host Katie Phang also pointed to recent reports that Trump had to see 22 specialists during his recent visit to Walter Reed Hospital and that Trump might be the recipient of retatrutide, a powerful weight-loss drug.

"The White House tried to make it seem like this is a routine thing for a man of his age," Phang said. "I'm sorry, my mom is 83. She doesn't see 22 specialists. Sorry doesn't happen."

Phang equated the experimental weight loss drug that Trump may have received to "bariatric weight surgery," and added, "It's that drastic to be able to facilitate weight loss."

Rosenberg suggested that if Trump was given access to the drug, it was because "there were very deep concerns about the condition of his heart, and his weight, and that he needed to lose weight rapidly in order to relieve the pressure on his heart, and that he was actually in danger."

However, Phang warned, "I don't think a JD Vance has the charisma of a Trump or the cult appeal, but I do think JD Vance could be really bad as president of the United States."