President Donald Trump’s health is again under scrutiny after viral photos and videos of his bruised right hand lit up social media feeds. But instead of the openness Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has promised when she called him “the most transparent and accessible” president in history, the White House leaned on disgraced Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson — a former Navy rear admiral demoted for misconduct and now unable to legally practice medicine outside of emergencies.
Jackson, 58, isn’t Trump’s current physician, though he does hold the honor of being the official White House physician for both Obama and Trump during his first term.
A damaging Pentagon inspector general report all but ruined Jackson’s reputation as a physician when it found he drank on duty, created a hostile work environment, and handed out prescription pills so freely that colleagues nicknamed him the “Candyman,” the Texas Tribune reported.
By 2022, his medical license had lapsed, restricting him to emergency care only, according to Business Insider.
That didn’t seem to limit Jackson’s access to the president, especially during the crucial moments after an assassination attempt was made on him in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024. Jackson claimed in a press release that he was by the President’s side hours later to “examine his health and consult on his medical care.”
On Tuesday, Aug. 26, Jackson was tapped again to assure the public that Trump’s health was nothing to be concerned about.
In a statement provided to The Daily Beast, he said, “As President Trump’s former personal physician, former Physician to the President, and White House physician for 14 years across three administrations, I can tell you unequivocally: President Donald J. Trump is the healthiest president this nation has ever seen.”
He went on to claim that he “continues to consult with [Trump’s] current physician and medical team at the White House” and still “spend[s] significant time with the President,” assuring everyone that Trump is “mentally and physically sharper than ever before.”
For the public following Trump updates on a minute-by-minute basis, the statement was less than reassuring.
“There is no bottom for these people,” one Threads user wrote.
“Oh he must be in bad shape when he whips out Dr. Ronnie, the drunken unlicensed ex doctor,” said another.
“What’s so unusual about that? He previously lied about Trump’s height and weight, what’s another lie going to hurt?” quipped a third.
Another added, “God they are such idiots. Who on earth do they think. Is going to believe anything they say. You just have to look at the felon to see he is on his way out . The White House if full of liars and idiots”
The public’s concern just continues to grow.
An influx of photos over recent weeks showed Trump’s right hand smeared with makeup, sparking questions about what was being hidden before the president opted to forgo concealer and reveal a large purplish splotch on the back of the hand during functions at the White House on Monday. This dramatic revelation emerges on the same day a video came from his Virginia golf club showing Trump appearing to drag his right leg.
By this week some observers were drawing eerie comparisons to Queen Elizabeth II’s final public photos that also showed bruised hands just days before her death, according to Today.
Leavitt’s insistence on reiterating how transparent the administration has been is making the public wonder out loud what more are they hiding.
Earlier this week she gave an easy volley to the administration’s detractors when she tweeted a reminder that “President Trump is the most transparent and accessible President in American history!” after a reporter comlained about being called to the oval office several times for Trump’s marathon meetings.
“Trump is calling the press pool into the Oval Office for a third time today. Never seen this before,” he tweeted.
“Not too transparent about his own health is he, Karoline?” one user replied to Leavitt’s tweet. “Of course. He did not even try to hide it,” said another.
“Transparency isn’t a buzzword,” another said. “It means medical records, financial records. He hides it all.”
The White House opting to lean on Jackson who has a his history of exaggerations about Trump’s health is disconcerting. In 2018, he told reporters Trump had “incredible genes” and might “live to 200 years old” if he ate better, NBC News reported at the time.
Those claims were dismissed as sycophantic then. Repeating the same script now, with the president’s visible health issues under scrutiny and his press secretary promising openness, only widens the gap between what the Trump administration believes versus reality.
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