Amid the festive glow of the East Room, where the air was thick with the scent of evergreen and the weight of high-stakes politics, the American president took to the podium to deliver a message that had very little to do with the holiday season. Donald Trump, ever the showman, turned a Hanukkah reception on Tuesday night into a robust defence of his own physical vitality. In a room filled with supporters and dignitaries, the 79-year-old commander-in-chief sought to silence growing whispers about his health by making a characteristically bold claim: that he is the most fit individual to ever occupy the Oval Office.
The assertion came as Trump recounted a conversation with his former White House Physician, Ronny Jackson. Now a Republican congressman representing Texas, Jackson has long been a vocal ally of the President, but Trump’s latest retelling of their interactions raised more than a few eyebrows among the Capitol Hill press pack. According to the president, Jackson was once asked to compare the health of the most recent residents of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
‘Ronny was asked who is the healthiest of all time?’ Trump told the gathered crowd, his voice echoing through the historic room. ‘Was it Barack Hussein Obama? Was it sleepy Joe Biden? Or was it Donald Trump? And he said Trump was by far the healthiest’. The remark, delivered with a smirk, was met with cheers from the loyalists in attendance, yet it quickly ran into the brick wall of chronological reality.
The ‘Healthiest Of All Time’: Donald Trump Dismisses Fitness Fears With a Jab at Rivals
While the president’s rhetoric was aimed at projecting strength, his timeline appeared slightly skewed. Fact-checkers were quick to note that while Jackson did serve as the physician to the president during Trump’s first term and a significant portion of Obama’s second, he was never the doctor for Joe Biden. By the time Biden took the oath of office, Jackson had already traded his stethoscope for a seat in Congress.
This discrepancy has done little to quiet the ‘low-level panic’ reportedly bubbling behind the scenes of this second administration. For weeks, observers have pointed to physical clues that suggest the president might be dealing with more than just a demanding schedule.
Most notably, Trump has appeared in public recently with visible bandages on his hands, a detail that has sent the rumour mill into overdrive. Although the White House has remained tight-lipped about the specific cause of the dressings, they have confirmed that the president underwent two physicals and an MRI earlier this year — procedures they insist are entirely routine for a man of his age.
Eyes Closed or Deep Sleep? Aides Reportedly ‘Panic’ As Donald Trump Dozes Off in Cabinet
The scrutiny isn’t just limited to physical marks; it’s about the president’s presence in the room. Reports of Trump ‘zoning out’ or appearing to fall asleep during high-level briefings have become increasingly frequent. During a recent cabinet meeting, cameras captured the President with his eyes firmly shut, appearing to drift off while key policy points were being discussed.
Addressing these concerns in a recent two-part profile for Vanity Fair, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles offered a somewhat unconventional explanation for her boss’s behaviour. When questioned about the optics of a president nodding off during essential government business, Wiles was defensive. ‘He’s not asleep,’ she insisted. ‘He’s got his eyes closed, and his head leaned back… and, you know, he’s fine’.
However, not everyone is buying the ‘eyes closed but awake’ narrative. Michael Wolff, a long-time biographer of the president, suggested to the Daily Beast‘s podcast on Wednesday that the situation is far more chaotic than the official line suggests. Wolff claimed that aides are often left scrambling when the president enters a deep slumber in the middle of an event.
‘I never remember Trump falling asleep, it used to be he got bored and then would walk out,’ Wolff remarked, noting a distinct shift in the president’s habits. ‘You can’t wake him up because the cameras are rolling. Everyone is in a low-level panic all the time about Trump falling asleep’.
According to Wolff, the aftermath of these episodes is often just as tense. ‘Then he gets angry,’ he continued. ‘He essentially blames the people around him for the fact that he fell asleep. Nobody knows what to do’.
As the president continues to insist on his unparalleled health, the contrast between his public boasts and the private concerns of his inner circle remains one of the most talked-about stories in Washington. Whether it is a matter of tactical rest or a genuine medical concern, the question of Donald Trump’s fitness is a shadow that even the brightest Hanukkah lights cannot seem to chase away.
As Donald Trump continues to project an image of unparalleled vitality, the mounting reports of ‘low-level panic’ within his own administration suggest a different story. Whether the president’s recent public dozing is a symptom of a punishing schedule or a more serious medical concern, the question of his fitness for office remains a shadow that even the brightest festive lights cannot dispel.
Originally published on IBTimes UK
