Trump Makes Wild ‘Best Physical Specimen’ Claim Amid Swirling Health Rumors

President Donald Trump seemed to address questions over his health on Sunday as he gave a shoutout to Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), who was his physician during his first term in office.

“He was my doctor in the White House and I got to know him very well. He was also the doctor for Barack Hussein Obama. Have you heard of him? That he was a doctor for a man named Bush,” he said at a rally-style speech to thousands of sailors at a U.S. Navy celebration.

Jackson was part of the White House medical team under then-President George W. Bush, and eventually became physician to the president under both Obama and Trump.

Trump said Jackson ranked him above the others.

“At a press conference, they asked him: ‘Who’s in the best shape? Who’s the healthiest? Who’s the strongest? Who’s the best physical specimen of the three?’” Trump said. “He said, ‘That’s easy. President Donald Trump.’”

Trump naturally took to him immediately.

“I said, ‘I love this guy,’” he recalled. “I said, ‘I love him.’”

It’s unclear when Jackson made the statement.

However, Jackson has been very effusive about the president’s health. He said in 2018 that Trump had “incredibly good genes” and could live to 200 if he had a healthier diet.

He also applauded and gave the thumbs-up as Trump told his anecdote.

Trump has in recent months faced growing questions about his health, especially after observers noticed swelling around his feet and ankles and a bruise on his hand, often covered with makeup.

The White House has said the swelling is due to chronic venous insufficiency, which involves poor blood flow from the legs back to the heart, while the bruising is from frequent handshaking combined with aspirin use.

But the president’s critics have suggested there’s more going on.

“I am gravely worried for the leadership of the United States,” she later said during a CNN interview, “I want this president to succeed, but it is clear to me that he is unwell.”

And last month, former Politico magazine editor Garrett Graff, wrote a column pointing to six questions that need to be asked about the president’s health.