Donald Trump declared mentally fit for office
Donald Trump has ‘no issues’ with his thought process and is mentally fit for office, but needs to lose weight his doctor says.
Donald Trump has ‘no issues’ with his thought process and is mentally fit for office, his doctor said today.
In an unusual press briefing lasting almost an hour, Mr Trump’s physician, Navy doctor Ronny Jackson revealed that the 71-year-old president asked him to test his cognitive ability and then to release the results publicly.
The move appears to be a response by Mr Trump to questions raised by his critics, including in Michael Wolff’s recent book Fire and Fury, about his mental fitness to serve as president.
Mr Trump responded to those suggestions by claiming he was “really smart” and a “stable genius.”
Dr Jackson said that in addition to Mr Trump’s first medical physical check as president last week, he took the usual step of also doing cognitive tests at the president’s request.
“I’ve seen him every day,” Dr Jackson said. “I had absolutely no concerns about his cognitive ability or his neurological functions.”
But at Mr Trump’s urging, Dr Jackson conducted the Montreal Cognitive Assessment test on him and said he did “exceedingly well,” scoring a 30 out of 30.
“(There is) No evidence whatever that he has any cognitive issues. I’ve never known him to repeat himself around me and I’ve found no reason whatsoever to think the president has any issues with his thought process,” he said.
Dr Jackson said that overall the president was in “excellent” health despite not exercising and being overweight.
“All clinical data indicates that the president is currently very healthy and that he will remain so for the duration of his presidency,” Dr Jackson said.
He said Mr Trump, who does not drink alcohol or smoke, had low blood pressure at 122/74 and excellent cardiac health.
But he said the 6 foot 3 (1.9metres) president was overweight at 239 pounds (108kg) and that he would look at a low-fat diet and exercise to try to lose 10-15 pounds (4.5kg) over the next 12 months.
When asked how Mr Trump was in such good health when he does no exercise and reportedly spends some nights eating cheeseburgers in his bedroom, Dr Jackson replied: “genetics.”
But he did say the president had elevated cholesterol and took tablets to control it.
He said Mr Trump only slept for between four and five hours per night and that overall he was “very sharp” and fit for duty.
Cameron Stewart is also US Contributor for Sky News Australia
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