Donald Trump invoked disgraced former White House physician Ronny Jackson to make the unbelievable claim that he’s “healthiest” U.S. president in recent history.
During Tuesday’s Shamrock Bowl Presentation, an annual St. Patrick’s Day tradition in which Ireland’s prime minister presents the U.S. president with a crystal bowl of shamrocks, Trump, 79, acknowledged several guests in the room, including Jackson, who is now a congressman representing Texas.
He then went on a tangent about how, despite his many symptoms, Jackson says his health is superior to that of presidents who were much younger when they held office.
“I’ll never forget, they said, ‘Who’s the healthiest president?’ Because he covered Obama. He covered some others—I don’t want to say who. And Trump. He said ‘By far Trump. There’s nobody even close.’”
Before becoming a diehard MAGA loyalist, Jackson joined the White House Medical Unit in 2006 under George W. Bush, who was 59 at the time.
He served as physician to the president from 2013 to 2018 under Barack Obama, who became president at age 47, and then Trump, who nominated Jackson—who had achieved the rank of one-star rear admiral in the Navy—to lead the Department of Veteran Affairs in his first term.
It was then that Jackson’s many scandals came to light, with nearly two dozen current and former White House medical staff accusing him of drinking on the job, over-prescribing opioids, and creating a hostile work environment.
Then-Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, who was ranking member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, revealed that Jackson was nicknamed “the Candyman” because he handed out medication so freely.
Other damning allegations included claims that Jackson crashed a government vehicle while intoxicated, drunkenly banged on a female employee’s hotel room door during an overseas trip until Secret Service intervened, and performed his official duties hungover.
“The allegations against me are completely false and fabricated,” Jackson said at the time, before withdrawing his nomination.
He returned to work in the White House, and in 2020 he was elected to the House of Representatives with Trump’s backing.
The claims of wrongdoing continued, however, with the Defense Department inspector general’s office releasing a damning report in 2021 concluding he had made “sexual and denigrating” comments about a female subordinate in the White House.
After he retired from the Navy in 2019, Jackson was demoted in 2022 from rear admiral to captain, though under the second Trump administration his old rank was reinstated, he announced in September.
Despite the scandals, Trump has continued to lean on Jackson, including asking him to be by his side after a gunman tried to assassinate him at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024.
Jackson has also continued to vouch for the president’s health, despite not actually being his doctor.
“Whenever I have a problem, I call Doc Ronnie and he works it out. He’s a great guy,” Trump said on Tuesday.
Since returning to office in January 2025, the president has been plagued by swollen ankles, severe bruising on his hands, slurred speech, an uneven gait, and trouble staying awake during high-stakes summits.
