The Strange Way Donald Trump Just Tried To One-Up Obama

People who didn't know much about Donald Trump before 2016 learned more than their share once he was elected president. Trump was — and is — only too happy to share his opinions of himself at every opportunity. Spoiler alert: He thinks pretty highly of himself. With the 2024 elections on the horizon, Trump is busy on the campaign trail making his case for the Republican nomination. His speeches focus on reminding supporters of how great things were when he was in the White House, and how America quickly went down the tubes once Joe Biden took office. A second Trump presidency, he declares, is the country's only hope for avoiding total destruction. But Trump's recent attempt to prove he's fitter for the job is being met with laughter and dropped jaws.

Speaking at a rally in Iowa on December 13, 2023, Trump informed his followers he had recently been examined by Dr. Ronny Jackson, the former White House physician- turned Congressman. Declaring he had easily passed both his physical and cognitive exams, he went on, per HuffPost, "[Jackson] was my doctor. He was Obama's doctor, too, by the way. I said, 'Who's healthier?' He said, 'Sir, there's no contest.' I won't tell you the answer, but you know the answer, OK? It was me."

Trump also referenced a comment Jackson made in 2018: "He said, 'If he didn't eat junk food, he'd live to 200 years old.' That's my kind of a doctor."

On X (the platform formerly known as Twitter), users are sharing plenty of laughing and "Sure, Jan" GIFs in response to Donald Trump's claim he's healthier than Barack Obama. "With all the McDonald's that guy eats? Yeah, right," scoffed one responder. Another said, "[Dr. Ronny] Jackson should lose his medical license for that." A puzzled commenter wondered why Trump was comparing himself to his predecessor. "All these years later and Trump still thinks he's running against Obama," they sighed.

Is the statement accurate? Only a medical professional could say for sure, but it's hard not to compare the physical appearances of the two former POTUSes. True, Obama was once a smoker, but he told Essence in 2020 he had finally quit the habit. He also kept to a regular workout regime in and out of office, whereas Trump's preferred sport — golf — is much less strenuous. Thanks to Michelle Obama, there are now fresh vegetables in the White House garden available to all first families, but Trump was more often seen enjoying burgers and Diet Coke. And no doctor's report can erase the fact Trump is, at 77, more than a decade older than the 62-year-old Obama. 

Dr. Jackson has yet to confirm or clarify his reported remarks, but it's worth noting that in his 2018 report, he said Trump's physical condition was more a factor of "incredibly good genes" than a healthy lifestyle, per CNN.