Republican Representative Ronny Jackson has said that former President Donald Trump's health was in the "top 10 percent of everyone his age" when he examined him during his time as White House doctor.
Jackson, who now represents Texas' 13th congressional district, praised the former president's health during an appearance on Newsmax on Monday and pointed to the fact that Trump does not smoke or drink.
Newsmax host Greg Kelly pointed out that Jackson was well-known for praising Trump's health when he served as White House physician and asked the congressman to describe his condition.
"He's in great health," Jackson said. "And people wonder why he's so healthy because, you know, he famously doesn't have a really great diet and he doesn't exercise much other than playing golf and whatnot."
The congressman added: "You gotta look at his whole life. Throughout his life, he never drank, he never smoked, he led a pretty healthy life overall compared to a lot of folks, so I think he's reaping the rewards of a healthy life early on.
"He was in great shape. I put him on the treadmill and did a cardiac stress test on him. He knocked it out of the water. I mean - he was in the top ten percent of everyone his age."
Jackson said he had been "thorough" in his examination of Trump and suggested this is something "we have not seen" from the current White House doctor when it comes to President Joe Biden.
In January, 2018, Jackson publicly praised Trump's health following his annual physical and said the former president's health was "very, very good" and "excellent."
"I told the president that if he had a healthier diet over the last 20 years, he might live to be 200-years-old," Jackson said at the time.
"He has incredibly good genes, and it's just the way God made him," Jackson added.
Jackson, who on Sunday posted a video daring President Biden to come take his AR-15 rifle, has previously argued that the president is suffering from cognitive issues that amount to a "national security issue."
The congressman told One America News in April that he was not trying to make a diagnosis but said "I think the whole world sees that he's having some issues, he's struggling cognitively."
"It's not a good time to have a commander-in-chief and a head of state that's having these particular issues. I think there's something going on... it's a national security issue at this particular point," Jackson said.
Former President Trump, who is 76-years-old, recently posted about Biden's age on his social media platform TRUTH Social. Biden is 79-years-old and will turn 80 in November.
"There are many people in their 80s, and even 90s, that are as good and sharp as ever. Biden is not one of them, but it has little to do with his age. In actuality, life begins at 80!" Trump wrote.
Newsweek has contacted Ronny Jackson's office for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Darragh Roche is a U.S. News Reporter based in Limerick, Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. politics. He has ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
