President Donald Trump took time out of his speech at a Hanukkah reception on Tuesday night to brag about his perfect health and praise the former White House physician who said he was the “healthiest president” he’d ever seen.
Speaking to attendees at the reception, held in the East Room of the White House, Trump began his address by offering his prayers for those impacted by the horrific massacre at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday that saw a peaceful Hanukkah celebration end in tragedy.
“Let me take a moment to send the love and prayers to our entire nation, to the people of Australia, and especially all those affected by the horrific and antisemitic terrorist attack—and that’s exactly what it is, antisemitic—that took place on a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney. What a terrible, terrible thing,” he said.
He then quickly transitioned into welcoming prominent attendees, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Rep. Ronny Jackson, who previously served as physician to the president during the second Obama administration and Trump’s first term.
“Ronny Jackson, he was my White House doctor,” Trump said. “Ronny was asked, who’s the healthiest of all? Was it Barack Hussein Obama? Was it Sleepy Joe Biden? Or was it Donald Trump? And he said Trump was by far the healthiest.”
“He was the doctor for all three of us, and he said Trump was by far the healthiest, I love him,” Trump continued. “If he didn’t say that I would’ve never talked to him again. Ronny Jackson, what a great legend.”
Jackson never served as physician to President Joe Biden, running for congress in 2020 and taking his seat in the House of Representatives on Jan. 3 2021, prior to Biden’s inauguration.
In August, the White House released a statement in which Jackson said of Trump, “As President Trump’s former personal physician, former Physician to the President, and White House physician for 14 years across three administrations, I can tell you unequivocally: President Donald J. Trump is the healthiest president this nation has ever seen.” Jackson did not specifically mention any former presidents by name.
Jackson initially declined to compare Trump’s health to that of other presidents when prompted in 2018, telling reporters, “My job is to basically give you my assessment of President Trump today and I’m not gonna make any comparisons with presidents over the last 200 years.”
Jackson also said in 2018, “I told the president if he had a healthier diet over the last 20 years he might live to be 200,” adding that his overall health was “excellent.”
Trump has repeatedly claimed that Jackson has described him as being healthier than his predecessors, but a Newsweek fact check published in November 2024 was unable to find evidence of this claim.
Instead, Newsweek suggested he was confusing Jackson’s remarks with those of his personal physician, Harold Bornstein, who said in a 2015 statement released by the Trump campaign, “If elected, Mr. Trump, I can state unequivocally, will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
Jackson has continued to offer his services to the president despite now sitting in Congress and despite no longer having a valid medical license.
Trump has faced increased scrutiny regarding his health during his second term, prompted in particular by his suspected cognitive decline and the ever-present bruising on his hands, which he often unsuccessfully attempts to cover with bandages or makeup. The president has responded to this speculation by suggesting that discussing his fitness for office could be considered “seditious, perhaps even treasonous.”
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