Trump checkup launches ‘girther movement’
Weight, weight, don’t tell him.
From the racist notion that former U.S. president Barack Obama wasn’t born in America to the dangerous, completely unfounded suggestion that vaccines cause autism, President Donald Trump has been an avid fan of conspiracy theories, but he’s now found himself at the centre of heavy debate online.
When White House physician Dr. Ronny Jackson revealed Tuesday that the Filet-o-Fish-loving commander-of-the-Armed Forces weighed in at 239 pounds, combining with his height of six-foot-three to put him in the body mass index category of “overweight” but narrowly missing “obesity,” the internet responded with sizable scrutiny.
MSNBC host Chris Hayes put a label on those with hefty hesitation to believe the Obama appointee’s as- sessment, tweeting, “Has anyone coined ‘girther’ for those who believe the president weighs more than his doctor reports?”
Jackson told reporters in the White House briefing room that Trump has “incredible genes, I just assume,” when questioned about how it’s possible someone who eats so much fast food could be considered “very healthy,” but some still doubted that’s the case considering how he stacks up against athletes of similar size.
“Colin Kaepernick is 6’4 230. Trump is supposedly 6’3 235. Something isn’t adding up,” Matt Rogers tweeted.
Some Twitter users even questioned the height of the man who reportedly labelled Miss Universe winner Alicia Machado “Miss Piggy” and told her to lose weight.
“Trump 6’3” Obama 6’1” #Girther #AlternativeFacts,” Bill Jack wrote along with an image of Obama and his successor standing side by side.
Also questioning his official height: his driver’s licence.
Obtained by Politico in 2016, Trump’s New York identification also states he’s six-foot-two.
That 1 inch would put Trump bigly in the obese category of the body mass index.
Additionally, Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn took a page out of Trump’s birther playbook and made an offer to donate to charity if the president is willing to offer proof of his pounds in public. “I will give 100 thousand dollars to Trump’s favorite charity if he will step on an accurate scale with an impartial medical professional, okayed by both of us,” the filmmaker tweeted. “For real.”