On Tuesday, White House physician Dr. Ronny Jackson appeared before reports in the press room and informed them that the President Trump is in excellent shape, joking that with a healthier diet, Trump “might live to be 200.”
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Jackson began his remarks by reading off the results from a series of tests that were performed on the president. He said “all clinical data indicates that the president is currently very healthy and that he will remain so for the duration of his presidency.”
Following his statements, Jackson opened the room to reporters who dogged him about the details of his report. Almost immediately, NBC’s Hallie Jackson asked about the president’s “mental fitness” and the White House physician answered “I’ve spent almost every day in the president’s presence … I had no concerns about his cognitive ability … the reason that we did the cognitive assessment is because the president asked me to do it.” He added, “I didn’t think it was indicated, I didn’t think we needed to it.”
Dr. Ronny Jackson on President Trump’s health being "excellent," given his diet: “It’s called genetics” https://t.co/CuSHgBsYjV https://t.co/6KKBnT5SS7
— CNN (@CNN) January 16, 2018
Soon after, CNN’s Jim Acosta, who has brushed with the White House on several occasions, asked Jackson if he was giving all the results but the physician said “absolutely nothing” was being withheld from Trump’s results. Earlier on Tuesday, the president kicked Acosta out of a meeting with the prime minister of Kazakhstan.
Reporter: [Trump] plays golf a lot almost every weekend. Does that help his health?
Dr. Jackson: Yes. I think so. It's a good way to get outside and relieve stress, so if that's what he enjoys doing I think it's healthy for him to do it. https://t.co/bAHF1nKZ3A pic.twitter.com/fGqvMYurBf
— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 16, 2018
Another reporter asked Jackson if he has “any concerns about [the president’s] use of Twitter” but the physician responded “Twitter doesn’t involve me as a doctor. I don’t have any concern on that.” He added that Trump “doesn’t sleep much,” estimating that the president sleeps four to five hours a night.
Jackson said that the intends to put Trump on a diet and exercise regimen and that he hopes for the president to lose between 10 and 15 pounds. The White House physician is an admiral in the U.S. Navy and has been in his post since July of 2013, when he was appointed by Obama.