For the first time, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is opening up about his morning routine and weight loss journey, as others — including President Donald Trump — take notice that the governor is prioritizing his health more.

The journey comes amid increasing speculation that Pritzker is gearing up for a White House run in 2028.

Pritzker met NBC 5 Chicago’s Mary Ann Ahern for an exclusive early-morning interview Tuesday along the lakefront in Chicago. Last year, he started walking indoors. He took the routine outside when the weather turned nicer, and he now walks about four or five miles every morning.

“Walking outside is great for your mental health. It just gives me a real break from the early, burly challenges of everyday life. So I love it,” Pritzker said. “When the weather’s bad, obviously, I try to find a treadmill somewhere.”

“And people are noticing. You’ve obviously lost weight,” Ahern said.

“I guess so. I guess people are noticing, but … I had not anticipated that people would pay attention,” Pritzker said.

The president has made comments about Pritzker’s weight, including last year when he joked about the governor eating hamburgers. Late-night comedians have also mentioned Pritzker’s appearance, including during a May interview with the governor on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Kimmel told Pritzker he should make up his own nickname before the president creates one for him, as he has with previous political rivals. Kimmel suggested names like JB Pizza and JB Back Ribs, while Pritzker offered JBeefy as his own suggestion.

Weighing heavily on his mind is the knowledge that his father, Donald Pritzker, died of a heart attack at age 39 in 1972. Pritzker was only 7 years old.

“Whenever I go to the doctor, it’s part of my record. They’re always advising me, like, here are things that you need to be concerned about and that you’re at a higher risk, let’s say, because you have a family member who died of a heart attack young. So, that does drive me,” Pritzker said.

“When you’re in the public eye, people want to know. And I don’t want to be too rude to you. But at the same time, are you taking also one of the drugs to help lose some weight?” Ahern asked.

“I’m not going to answer that question partly because I think there are a lot of people who are on those PLP1s, and it’s kind of none of anybody’s business. Sometimes people are doing it because they have a health problem, like a genuine medical problem, diabetes or something else. And those are amazing drugs,” Pritzker said.

“There will be those by not answering that are going to assume that yes, you are,” Ahern said.

“I don’t care. I think that anybody doing anything that’s good for their health, that’s a positive thing. And this is good for my health. I have kids I want to be around for for a long time. So, I think being healthier is a very positive thing. I have fought my being overweight my whole life,” Pritzker said.

Last year, the state of Illinois announced it would expand weight-loss drug coverage for state employees. Pritzker said it’s cheaper for the state, “not to mention healthier for the people who work for us.”