President ‘fit for duty,’ has no cognitive issues, says physician
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump is in excellent physical and mental health, according to the White House physician, despite his famously unhealthy diet on the campaign trail and continued neglect of exercise, which has led to high cholesterol and borderline obesity.
Trump received a perfect score in the cognitive test and “he’s fit for duty… will remain fit for duty for the remainder of this term and even for the remainder of another term, if he’s elected”, said presidential physician Ronny Jackson, a rear admiral in the US Navy, at a briefing on Tuesday.
Questions have been raised about Trump’s mental health but got fresh impetus after a recently released tell-all book about his administration drew a picture of him repeating himself and unable to grasp issues. Trump has denied the allegations in the book, saying he is a “very stable genius”.
Jackson said that he conducted a cognitive test on Trump at his insistence in light of questions raised by critics. Trump scored a perfect 30 of 30 in the Montreal Cognitive Assessment.
Trump, who is 71 years old and is six feet and three inches tall, weighs 108 kg, is borderline obese on the BMI, and his cholesterol is high.
Jackson said he will be working with Trump, who is already on a light dose of a cholesterol reducing drug, to lower it further.
Asked how a man who preferred a McDonalds diet could be so healthy, Jackson said it could be due to his “incredibly good genes”. But the fact Trump never smoked or used alcohol helped.