Trump's physical exam 'went exceptionally well' and he's in 'excellent health': physician
US President Donald Trump attended a physical examination at Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre in Maryland on Friday. The US leader is reportedly in “excellent health.” This is according to the person who examined him, presidential physician Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson. The physical examination came after concerns about whether Trump is mentally fit for his role as commander-in-chief.
Jackson has released a statement, saying Trump’s physical exam went exceptionally well. "The President is in excellent health and I look forward to briefing some of the details on Tuesday," he added.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that Jackson will take questions from reporters. As to what information will be shared with the public will be up to Trump, since such is his right just like other American citizens under federal health privacy laws. Jackson is expected to take questions on Tuesday.
George Annas, head of the Center for Health Law, Ethics and Human Rights at Boston University School of Public Health, expects that the public report from Trump’s exam will be short. “I don’t think you could expect to see anything else, unless it’s something that makes him look good,” Reuters reports him as saying.
Former US president Barack Obama's exam included a summary of his neurological function. In a summary of his 2014 physical, Jackson noted that the former POTUS’ overall health was in excellent shape.
University of California at San Francisco professor Steve Schroeder believes Trump is average in terms of health. He said the most important thing the POTUS has done was never smoke in his lifetime, The Guardian reports. Trump’s choice of abstaining from tobacco puts him ahead of most American men.
The POTUS’ mental competency has been making headlines since excerpts of the book “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House” have been published. The book authored by Michael Wolff suggests that nearly all of Trump's staff and advisers think he is mentally unwell.
Republicans appeared to have questioned his fitness for office. Senator Bob Corker has expressed concerns about his "leadership, and just his stability, and the lack of desire to be competent on issues and understand.”
But Trump was quick to dismiss the criticism and reportedly called the book’s author a fraud. On Twitter, he called himself a “very stable genius.” Earlier this week, he allowed cameras to film him negotiating immigration legislation with senators at the White House.
