Then-President Donald Trump walks past weights and a crane after delivering a speech at the White House in July 2020.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
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Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
Then-President Donald Trump walks past weights and a crane after delivering a speech at the White House in July 2020.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump shared a report Monday proclaiming his “exceptional” cognitive health — a thinly veiled shot at Joe Biden on the president’s 81st birthday.
The memo, signed by Trump’s personal physician, is rich in praise but light on detail, describing the Republican primary candidate’s overall health as “excellent” and his performance on cognitive tests as “outstanding.”
It also claims that Trump has “reduced his weight through an improved diet and continued daily physical activity” and attributes this as the reason why his “lab analysis” came back more favorably than in previous tests. But no specific measures are listed.
In August, Trump told the Fulton County Jail that his height and weight were 6’3″ and 215 pounds. Some on social media pointed out that these were the same measurements as the United States quarterback. Ravens Lamar Jackson (although Jackson, at 6’2″, is technically shorter).
Trump weighed 243 pounds during a presidential physical in 2019. His doctor said then that he was in “very good health” overall, but was technically obese.
The 77-year-old’s health has long been a source of speculation and intrigue. Trump himself made the issue a campaign talking point when he accused then-Democratic presidential candidate Hilary Clinton of lacking the “stamina” needed to carry out presidential duties.
A series of medical incidents and apparent attempts to mislead the public have only increased interest.
In 2015, Trump’s doctor claimed he would be “the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency,” then later admitted that the patient himself had dictated the memo.
In 2020, Trump’s doctors were criticized for offering contradictory or incomplete updates on the then-president’s coronavirus crisis, which turned into a superspreader event.
And that same year, Trump fueled several days of media rhetoric by bragging about his performance on a dementia test, which he presented as an intelligence test. He explained that the questions involved identifying an elephant and repeating the words “Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV”.
As he fights for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election, Trump has repeatedly attacked Biden’s mental acuity, portraying him as a senile puppet propped up by his team.
And polls repeatedly show that some voters feel the same way.
So it seems like a campaign strategy that Trump’s team chose to release the glowing medical report on the same day as the president’s birthday, even though the report itself notes that Trump’s latest “extensive review” took place on September 13.
Biden’s last physical in February 2023 produced a clean bill of health, but his physical and verbal stumbles continue to make national headlines.
Speaking at the White House turkey pardoning ceremony on Monday, Biden appeared to confuse Britney Spears and Taylor Swift shortly after making a joke about her age.
“It’s tough being 60,” he joked.
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