The White House is standing by a glowing medical report about President Trump’s health, even as some in the press insist that he has heart disease or that information about his weight was mischaracterized.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said she supported the assessment of the White House physician, Dr. Ronny Jackson, “100 percent that the president is in excellent health.”
The report about Trump’s health was made public Tuesday by Jackson, who carried out the medical exam for Trump last week at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. He declared the president “fit for duty” and said that he was particularly impressed at his cardiovascular health.
“Dr. Jackson has been a White House physician for the last 12 years, trusted by President Bush, President Obama and now President Trump,” Sanders said. “He is the only doctor that has weighed in on this matter that has actually examined the president and so I think a doctor that has spent the amount of time with the president as Dr. Jackson has is not only the most qualified but the only credible source when it comes to diagnosing any health concerns.”
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a neurosurgeon who works for CNN, cast doubt on the announcement and said the test results Jackson made public indicate Trump “no question” has heart disease. Other reporters have accused him of lying about his weight because a former driver’s license said his height was an inch shorter than the reported 6-foot-3-inches, which would place him in the category of “obese” rather than the current “overweight” using body mass index criteria.
The ethical codes of medical associations like the American Medical Association, which represents doctors, prohibit their members from diagnosing an illness on anyone they haven’t personally examined.
Asked directly by Gupta at the briefing whether Trump has heart disease, Jackson replied, “No, he does not have heart disease.”
