Weighty presidential matter sends Twitter into meltdown

DONALD TRUMP’S medical examination has come under mass scrutiny as questions are raised over the measurements given for his height and weight.

In his annual health check, the US president’s official weight was given as 239 pounds (17st) and his height as 75in (6ft3), which classes him as medically overweight but not obese.

However, the White House doctor’s claim that Mr Trump is in “excellent” health has prompted online mockery in the form of the Twitter hashtag “#girther”.

The “girther movement” questions Mr Trump’s true weight, echoing the “birther” conspiracy that Mr Trump led over Barack Obama’s birth certificate, alleging his predecessor was born in Kenya and therefore ineligible to be US president.

Among the Trump sceptics was James Gunn, the film director, who offered to donate $100,000 to a charity of Mr Trump’s choice if he stepped on a scale in public.

There have been more than 56,000 tweets about the girther movement since Mr Trump’s measurements were released, with one of the first posted by Chris Hayes, a political commentator, who wrote: “Has anyone coined ‘girther’ for those who believe the president weighs more than his doctor reports?”

One of the more popular tweets included a photograph purporting to show Mr Trump’s driving licence, listing the president as 6ft 2in, an inch shorter than Dr Ronny Jackson, the White House doctor, reported. If Mr Trump was 6ft 2in he would have a higher BMI and be classed as obese.

Others posted photos of Mr Trump standing next to well-known figures to compare their heights and weights.

However, others hit back, pointing out that muscle weighs more than fat, while some claimed the online mockery amounted to “fat shaming”.