White House doctor Ronny Jackson confirmed on Tuesday that President Trump is perfectly healthy, but reporters are accusing him of hiding something.
Journalists have long questioned the president’s mental health and fitness for office, but Dr. Jackson debunked any notion that Trump is unhealthy and called his mental health “excellent.”
However, reporters are still unwilling to accept that nothing is wrong with the president and have taken to Twitter to express their displeasure with Dr. Jackson’s assessment of Trump.
CNN’s Brian Stelter, who routinely talks about Trump’s fitness, wrote that Trump passing a cognitive exam has nothing to do with being “unfit.”
“Someone could be sharp as a tack, but still unfit,” Stelter claimed.
Here’s how the next few hours will go. Trump supporters will say “Concerns about Trump’s mental health were always absurd. Case closed now.” The obvious response: “The Q’s about fitness for office are serious. Someone could be sharp as a tack, but still unfit”
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 16, 2018
NBC’s Ken Dilanian suggested that Dr. Jackson could actually be lying about Trump’s weight and asked if the president would “step on a scale in public to prove it.”
Seeing a lot of skepticism over the idea that @realDonaldTrump weighs only 239 pounds. Would he step on a scale in public to prove it?
— Ken Dilanian (@KenDilanianNBC) January 16, 2018
Similarly, The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman said that Dr. Johnson may have arbitrarily made Trump one inch taller so that he would not have an “obese” BMI.
“Reminder that earlier physicals decades ago put Trump height at 6’2″,” Haberman said to her followers. “The 6’3″ height makes a difference on his BMI from overweight to obese.”
Reminder that earlier physicals decades ago put Trump height at 6’2”. The 6’3” height makes a difference on his BMI from overweight to obese https://t.co/iHIsJjustT
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) January 16, 2018
Dr. Ronny Jackson is lying about everything from Trump’s cognitive abilities to his weight. That’s shameful. Keep in mind that Trump, as Commander in Chief, can order an active duty military doctor like Jackson to lie to the public. Time for a full scale investigation.
— Palmer Report (@PalmerReport) January 16, 2018
MSNBC host Joy Reid credited Dr. Jackson with being an “able clinician” but knocked him for not being a psychiatrist.
“He can only assess Trump’s physical health,” she said, implying that Trump could still have something mentally wrong with him.
Dr. Jackson is by all accounts a credible, able clinician. He is also not a psychiatrist or sociologist. He can only assess Trump’s physical health, which he says is surprisingly good for someone of Trump’s age, weight and diet. Again, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) January 16, 2018
The Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin also downplayed the results of Trump’s results.
Trump got a cognitive test not a psychiatric exam. Does not rule out most of what’s in DSM
— Jennifer Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) January 16, 2018