President Donald Trump, 79, told a White House audience on Friday that former White House physician Ronny Jackson once informed him he could live to 200 years old — if only he gave up junk food. The remark came during an East Room ceremony honoring the U.S. Naval Academy football team, where Trump also signed an executive order establishing the second Saturday in December as the permanent date for the annual Army-Navy football game.
The comment, as reported by Yahoo News, drew attention not only for its audacity but also because it echoed a moment from nearly a decade earlier. In a 2018 press briefing following Trump’s first presidential physical, Jackson told reporters, “I told the President that if he had a healthier diet over the last 20 years he might live to be 200 years old.” The line elicited laughter from the press corps at the time, according to CNN.
Jackson, who began working with the White House Medical Unit in 2006 and served as physician to President Barack Obama from 2013 to 2018, has long been one of Trump’s most vocal health advocates. During that same 2018 briefing, he praised Trump’s genetics, saying, “He has incredible genes, I just assume.” He also reported that Trump scored a perfect 30 out of 30 on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, a test the president had personally requested.
Jackson is now a Republican congressman from Texas, having left the medical field behind after a turbulent chapter in Washington. During Trump’s first term, the president nominated Jackson to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. However, Jackson withdrew the nomination after nearly two dozen current and former White House medical staffers accused him of drinking on the job, overprescribing opioids, and fostering a hostile work environment. Jackson did not admit to any of the allegations.
Friday’s ceremony was held to present the Naval Academy football team, coached by Brian Newberry, with the Commander-in-Chief Trophy. The trophy is awarded annually to the winner of the competition among the Navy, Air Force, and Army football teams. The Navy squad has claimed the trophy in back-to-back years and 13 times in the past 23 years, according to the Irish Star.
Yet it was Trump’s health, not football, that dominated the post-ceremony conversation. Observers noted that the president’s hand appeared visibly bruised as he signed the executive order. The bruising had also been visible the night before, when Trump hosted a dinner for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, The Daily Beast reported. Both his hands and neck have appeared bruised in recent months.
The White House has attributed the persistent bruising to the result of numerous handshakes. The Daily Beast also reported that a daily high dosage of aspirin may be a contributing factor. The outlet further reported that Trump has been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a common circulatory condition in older adults that can cause leg swelling.
Trump’s most recent publicly disclosed weight was 225 pounds, with golfing listed as his primary physical activity. That represents a decrease from 2018, when Jackson reported Trump was 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighed 239 pounds — a figure that NPR noted placed him just one pound below the threshold for obesity according to the NIH’s body mass index calculator. By comparison, former President Obama’s weight remained around 180 pounds during his presidency, and he regularly played basketball in addition to golfing.
In 2018, Jackson said he planned to work with Trump to lose between 10 and 15 pounds and exercise more, and would try to enlist First Lady Melania Trump to improve the president’s diet. Jackson also noted at the time that Trump had abstained from alcohol and tobacco for his entire life, a factor he said contributed to the president’s relatively good health. Trump’s medications then included Crestor for cholesterol, daily aspirin, Propecia for male pattern baldness, a rosacea cream, and a daily multivitamin.
Meanwhile, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. offered his own colorful assessment of the president’s constitution. Speaking on “The Katie Miller Podcast,” Kennedy said Trump eats McDonald’s, candy, and drinks Diet Coke constantly. “He has the constitution of a deity,” Kennedy remarked. “I don’t know how he’s alive, but he is,” Benzinga reported via AOL.
Whether Trump’s diet has improved since Jackson first issued his tongue-in-cheek longevity forecast remains unclear. What is clear is that the 79-year-old president, bruised hands and all, shows no sign of slowing his public schedule — or his appetite for a memorable soundbite.
